Sam Bird is positive that Envision Virgin Racing can bounce back to its prior form from earlier in Season 5, however, has written off his 2018/19 championship chances.
Following a four-race non-scoring streak which marked his worst run of form in Formula E, Bird made a return to the top 10 at last weekend's Berlin E-Prix, with the driver securing ninth place at the chequered flag.
Losing track time in FP2 after making contact with the barriers on the exit of Turn 6, Bird had a difficult qualifying performance on Saturday morning ahead of the race, securing 13th on the grid.
Flighting through the pack, Bird took two points by claiming eighth – a result that the Briton described as "not bad," given his fight through the field, confident that he will be able to build on the result in June's Bern E-Prix:
"I maximised what I could," Bird told Motorsport Week. "After starting from 13th, finishing in P9 isn’t too bad. I overtook a few cars so I did my best.
"It’s something to build on. It’s not the season that I wanted, or the one that I thought I would be having, especially after the likes of Hong Kong when we were leading the championship.
"It’s been highly disappointing but I’m sure we can bounce back with three races to go and ending the season on a bit of a high would be nice.”
With 87 points still on offer in the three remaining rounds this season, Bird is 41 points adrift of Jean-Eric Vergne who currently leads the Drivers' Championship with 102 points and still has a mathematical chance, albeit slim, to take the Season 5 title.
When asked about his championship hopes, Bird replied honestly:
"I’m nowhere [in the title fight now]. I’d be happy to come top six.”
The European leg of the 2018/19 Formula E season will come to a close on June 22 with the Bern E-Prix before the all-electric single-seater series heads to New York City in July.
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