Ahead of this weekend's Formula E Season Four finale at the New York City E-Prix, Jean-Eric Vergne believes that both himself and Techeetah are "as prepared as we can be" as the 2017/18 title fight is set to come to a head.
Vergne, who joined the all-electric Formula E championship in its first season, currently leads the Drivers' Championship with one race weekend remaining while Techeetah, aided by the services of Andre Lotterer, lead the Teams' Standings.
After 10 races across five continents, Vergne currently holds a 23 point lead over DS Virgin Racing's Sam Bird while there are still 58 points still on offer this season, courtesy of this weekend's New York race being a double-header event where drivers will race both on Saturday and Sunday.
With Techeetah making history this season by taking the first 1-2 finish of the all-electric single seater series' short history at the Santiago E-Prix, the independent outfit have led the Teams' Standings for much of the Season Four campaign although the outfit's lead has slowly been reduced following the resurgence of Audi who have won the last two races in Berlin and Zurich.
Despite the threat that both himself and Techeetah face from Bird and Audi, Vergne heads to New York with a positive frame of mind, reluctant to change the philosophy that he has employed throughout the present campaign:
"I love New York and I can't wait to go racing there," said the championship leader who has taken wins in Santiago, Punta del Este and Paris.
"Our approach remains the same as it has always been. You don't change a winning concept at this stage of the season. We head to New York with a positive frame of mind, we're as prepared as we can be and now we're ready to give it all we've got to bring home both titles.
"We have an incredible team and each and every team-member should be proud over what we have achieved.
"No matter how this weekend goes, we have shown that a customer team can take on the manufacturers and be successful."
Looking back to past performances in the Big Apple, Techeetah team boss Mark Preston is confident that his team can maintain its competitive edge in the final race weekend of the season:
"Preparing for the final races of the season has been an all hands on deck affair. Now, that isn't something out of the ordinary for us as we're a small customer team, but this time around, everyone has geared up even further," he said.
"We have a truly brilliant team and we have built a reputation as a giant slayer this season. I'll take that! No matter the outcome of the championship, it's absolutely outstanding what our small team has achieved this season and I couldn't be prouder.
"The track layout in New York is slightly different from last year. There are four additional slow-speed corners, which will make for interesting racing.
"We were very competitive in New York last year and have made some good progress since, so we're expecting to be competitive and be able to bring it all.
"As we all know, anything can happen in Formula E. The tiniest little bit of bad luck or mistake and you're finished, but we are as prepared as we can possibly be. Now, we just have to avoid unnecessary mistakes," he added.
