Nelson Piquet Jr has said that he’s hoping to get NextEV NIO’s first podium since season one this weekend at the Mexico ePrix.
The season one champion struggled last season in a car that was overweight and underpowered, ruling out any chance of competing at the top end of the grid.
Things have turned around this season however, with the Brazilian having got into the Superpole shootout at every race this season.
And although this hasn’t yet resulted in a podium, Piquet Jr is confident that if everything goes well he could make it into the top three.
“It’s always a little difficult to know exactly how it’s going to be but like every weekend we have to envisage that it’s going to be good,” he said.
“Every race weekend will be a challenge but we believe if everything works out and we have a perfect race then we can crack the top three and try to get our first podium since season one.”
His team-mate Oliver Turvey was equally optimistic, saying that he was hopeful another strong qualifying performance could see him challenge for the win.
Turvey said, “I got to grips with the Mexico City track quickly last year so I will be aiming to continue our strong qualifying form this year and aim to get into superpole to be in a position to race for the top step of the podium.”
Meanwhile Team Principal Gerry Hughes said that the team had already begun preparations for next season after reports that DS and Renault had already made similar steps.
Speaking about the development Hughes said, “The design of the season four powertrain is progressing well.
“This is essentially our second Formula E powertrain design as NextEV NIO and we know that we have some areas in which to improve compared to our competitors.
“Whilst this is the last season with the first generation chassis and WAE RESS battery, we will be pushing to the hard to squeeze more performance out of the current car.”
