Reigning DTM champion Gary Paffett is targeting his maiden Formula E points finish at this weekend's Mexico City E-Prix as he aims to deliver HWA Racelab with its first top 10 finish of the 2018/19 season.
Paffett, alongside HWA, joined the all-electric single seater series' grid for the start of the present Season Five campaign in Ad Diriyah which has so far yielded little success for both parties.
For the first two races of the season in Ad Diriyah and Marrakesh, Paffett failed to see the chequered flag, crashing at the Riyadh Street Circuit before being struck by team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne in the first race of 2019 in Morocco.
At last month's Santiago E-Prix, Paffett successfully saw the chequered flag for the first time, despite finishing one lap down from eventual race winner Sam Bird after receiving a drive-through penalty for a power overshoot.
"We are making progress every weekend: me personally, Stoffel [Vandoorne] and the entire HWA Racelab team," said Paffett, looking ahead to the fourth round of the season.
"I completed the full race in Santiago. That was the first step. The next step is now to score the first points. That is my goal for Mexico.
"We now have a certain pace and greater experience with the car and the processes on a race weekend. We will now improve step by step, I am sure of that. I am really looking forward to Mexico."
Vandoorne, who crashed out from sixth place in Santiago after skating off the racing surface due to extensive marbling, highlighted Mexico City as an intriguing weekend, with the driver having raced at the venue on two occasions in Formula 1 although he is unfamiliar with the Formula E layout:
"It is not all that long since I was last in Mexico," said Vandoorne.
"I drove in the Formula 1 Grand Prix there at the end of last season. I am really pleased to be returning. The fans are always incredibly euphoric, they cheer on every driver vociferously.
"It is always a very special feeling to drive through the stadium section in Mexico City, where so many spectators are sat. However, the current layout will be completely new to me, as only one corner is the same as in Formula 1.
"I am looking forward to the race and am intrigued to see how the weekend unfolds."
Ulrich Fritz, Team Principal of HWA Racelab, added: "We took a step forward in all areas in Chile and were again able to gain a lot of experience.
"Unfortunately, we failed to get a good result in the race. However, we will focus on the positive: we had the speed to challenge for our first points.
"If possible, we want to finish the job this time in Mexico. However, I am wary of making predictions or setting ambitious goals.
"Unlike in Chile, the circuit in Mexico is once again familiar ground for the other teams. This means that they start the weekend with an advantage, which we must first make up."
The Mexico City E-Prix will take place on February 16 and will be followed by Formula E's third and final in-season group test one day later.
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