After a disappointing Rome ePrix in which Jaguar Racing took a mere two points away from the entire weekend, the British outfit is aiming to return to form in Paris for the seventh round of Season Four where the manufacturer believes that a podium finish is possible.
After joining the Formula E grid for the 2016/17 season, Jaguar is now in its second year of racing in the all-electric single seater series and has so far taken one podium which was scored by Mitch Evans at the second round of Season Four in Hong Kong.
Despite failing to claim any silverware since then, the Jaguar team have consistently competed inside the top ten and are one of three teams on the grid to have successfully scored points in each round this season.
Having made a clear step forward in terms of performance for their second season of competition, Jaguar Racing came close to securing its maiden victory earlier this month in Rome, with Evans battling for the win against DS Virgin Racing's Sam Bird and reigning champion Lucas di Grassi, running out of usable energy in the closing stages of the race to finish in ninth.
"We were so close to standing on the podium in Rome. It’s fuelled my determination to come back fighting in Paris," said Evans who is aiming for a strong result in the French capital to challenge the top five in the Drivers' Championship.
"My racecar performed well in the last two races.
"I think we have a chance at a podium, but Formula E is so unpredictable and competitive as you saw in Rome, anything can happen. It would be amazing, but we will keep working and keep fighting," he added.
Inaugural Formula E champion Nelson Piquet Jr, who has suffered from two consecutive retirements, mirrored his team-mate's determination: "Luck hasn't necessarily been on my side for the last two races," he said.
"We are going to work hard over the next couple of weeks to make sure we don't have the same problems we encountered in Rome and deliver a successful weekend in Paris.
"It’s a great track, it's short and technical and I think that the Jaguar I-TYPE 2 will be well suited to this layout.”
Missing out on what could have been a large haul of points proved to be costly for Jaguar in Rome, with the manufacturer dropping down to fifth place in the Teams' Championship with 88 points after being overtaken by DS Virgin Racing and Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler for third and fourth.
"Every race we are moving in the right direction. Unfortunately, things didn't quite go our way in Rome but we have taken a lot of positives and there are still improvements we can make," added Jaguar Racing Team Director James Barclay.
"We are extremely happy with the progress both Mitch and Nelson have made, and we are now competing for podiums, not just points.
"We have been close on a number of occasions and I'm sure our time will come."
The Paris ePrix will take place on April 28 at the Circuit Des Invalides where Formula E will visit its shortest venue on the Season Four calendar at 1.9kms long.
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