Nelson Piquet Jnr gets down to business at Hong Kong E-Prix as late starters Jaguar play catch up

It’s clear that Nelson Piquet Jnr can’t wait to get back to the business of winning as the FIA Formula E Championship enters its fourth season with the double-header around the Central Harbourfront this weekend.

That impression comes both from that fact that the Brazilian has thrown the weight of his not inconsiderable experience behind the fledgling Panasonic Jaguar Racing team, and via the figure he cut on Thursday tucked in behind a wide desk at the Mandarin Oriental with an air of quiet confidence and looking for all the world like some business chief executive.

“I am sure we’ll be more competitive than last year,” said the 32-year-old. “We might not be winning races out of the block. There are a lot of smart competitors out there. But our goal is to show a greater level of improvement. The goal is to just keep improving. Every day, every race, you step forward.”

Piquet has arrived ready to lead Jaguar into the HKT Hong Kong E-Prix in the British outfit’s second season of Formula E. Jaguar were a late entry into the season in 2016-17-and they struggled for consistency despite the obvious pace – and promise – shown by the 23-year-old New Zealander Mitch Evans. In signing Piquet on – to replace Englishman Adam Carroll – during the off-season, Jaguar have quite obviously gone for a driver who has seen and done it all across around two decades at the top of the sport.

“Mitch is an extraordinarily fast driver but he hasn’t seen what I’ve seen in the past 10 to 15 years of racing,” said Piquet. “It’s good that they are trusting me and we are doing everything that’s needed to accelerate this learning curve.”