British driver Alex Lynn is determined to overcome the technical problems that have held him and the DS Virgin team back in the Formula E championship.

Despite qualifying sixth, sixth and seventh in the last three races, Lynn lost grid position in all of them and was even forced to retire in Santiago. But despite suffering a ten-place grid penalty in Mexico he is confident the team – owned by Sir Richard Branson - can kick-on.

“This isn’t formula easy, this is a very hard championship where nothing is given,” he said. “We need to keep doing what we’re doing and now that we have got these technical difficulties out of the way it is time to kick on.

“Honestly, I think we should have scored a lot more points than we actually have. There aren’t many rookies who can put in that sort of qualifying performance but we’ve been very unlucky.

“Fingers crossed [technical issues] should all be finished now. We have to take the pain of the 10-place grid penalty but going forward we’re just looking at it as back to square one. Sam finished third last year so I think we should have a competitive car.”

This weekend’s E-Prix, held in Mexico City for the third time, boasts an extra significance this year as all profits from the event will be donated to the reconstruction efforts in Mexico following the recent earthquakes. A sell-out crowd is expected as Jean-Eric Vergne, Felix Rosenqvist and British contender Sam Bird battle for top spot in the individual drivers’ standings.

A new champion for Season 4 is looking almost certain after more problems for Lucas di Grassi and his Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler car left the reigning champion with a 10-place grid penalty for the second race in a row, something likely to cast him further adrift at the bottom of the 2018 standings with zero points to his name.