Britain’s Sam Bird has put his “disappointing” run of form in this year’s Formula E Championship down to a combination of “bad luck” and lack of competitive edge.

The Envision Virign Racing driver is currently 11th in the standings ahead of Saturday’s race in Bern, with a total of 56 points to his name – 46 behind table leader Jean-Eric Vergne.

However, it was a different story three months ago. After a bright start to the series – notably clinching victory in Santiago – the 32-year-old stood top of the pack heading into Hong Kong.

There, Bird appeared to have extended his lead further but was stripped of the win due to a five-second penalty after hitting Andre Lotterer and ending the German’s race.

That preceded a sudden and dramatic decline in results, with the Briton picking up just two points in total from the last five races.

Formula E - Best pictures Show all 19 1 /19 Formula E - Best pictures Formula E - Best pictures Hong Kong E-Prix HONG KONG, HONG KONG - MARCH 10: Antonio Felix da Costa (PRT), BMW I Andretti Motorsports, BMW iFE.18 leads Tom Dillmann (FRA), NIO Formula E Team, NIO Sport 004 and Felipe Nasr (BRA), GEOX Dragon Racing, Penske EV-3 on March 10, 2019 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. (Photo by FIA ABB Formula E/Handout/Getty Images) Handout Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Hong Kong E-Prix HONG KONG, HONG KONG - MARCH 10: Edoardo Mortara (CHE) Venturi Formula E makes his way through the crowd towards the podium on March 10, 2019 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. (Photo by FIA ABB Formula E/Handout/Getty Images) Handout Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Hong Kong E-Prix HONG KONG, HONG KONG - MARCH 10: Gary Paffett (GBR), HWA Racelab, VFE-05 leads Oliver Rowland (GBR), Nissan e.Dams, Nissan IMO1 on March 10, 2019 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. (Photo by FIA ABB Formula E/Handout/Getty Images) Handout Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Hong Kong E-Prix HONG KONG, HONG KONG - MARCH 10: FIA Formula E staff celebrate 50 races of the the championship on March 10, 2019 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. (Photo by FIA ABB Formula E/Handout/Getty Images) Handout Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Hong Kong E-Prix HONG KONG, HONG KONG - MARCH 10: Rain hitting the front of Edoardo Mortara's (CHE) Venturi Formula E, Venturi VFE05 on March 10, 2019 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. (Photo by FIA ABB Formula E/Handout/Getty Images) Handout Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Hong Kong E-Prix HONG KONG, HONG KONG - MARCH 10: Oliver Rowland (GBR), Nissan e.Dams, Nissan IMO1, passes Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL), HWA Racelab, VFE-05, at the start of the race on March 10, 2019 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. (Photo by FIA ABB Formula E/Handout/Getty Images) Handout Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Mexico City E-Prix MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 16: Race winner Lucas Di Grassi (BRA), Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler celebrates on the podium at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on February 16, 2019 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by FIA ABB Formula E/Handout/Getty Images) Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Mexico City E-Prix MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 16: JÃ©rÃ´me d'Ambrosio (BEL), Mahindra Racing, M5 Electro during the 2019 Mexico City E-Prix 2019 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by FIA ABB Formula E/Handout/Getty Images) Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Mexico City E-Prix MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 16: Pascal Wehrlein (DEU), Mahindra Racing, M5 Electro, leads at the start of the race during the 2019 Mexico City E-Prix 2019 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by FIA ABB Formula E/Handout/Getty Images) Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Mexico City E-Prix MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 16: BMW i8 Safety and Medical cars alongside Antonio Felix da Costa's (PRT) BMW I Andretti Motorsports, BMW iFE.18 on the grid at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez during the 2019 Mexico City E-Prix in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by FIA ABB Formula E/Handout/Getty Images) Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Santiago E-Prix SANTIAGO, CHILE - JANUARY 26: Sam Bird (GBR), Envision Virgin Racing, celebrates with Leon Price, Team and Sporting manager, Envision Virgin Racing during the Santiago E-prix at Parque O'Higgins Circuit on January 26, 2019 in Santiago, Chile. (Photo by Alastair Staley/Handout/Getty Images) Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Santiago E-Prix SANTIAGO, CHILE - JANUARY 26: Alexander Sims BMW team competes during the 2019 Antofagasta Minerals Santiago E-Prix as part of Formula E 2019 season on January 26, 2019 in Santiago, Chile. (Photo by Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images) Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Santiago E-Prix SANTIAGO, CHILE - JANUARY 26: Sam Bird (GBR), Envision Virgin Racing, celebrates victory during the Santiago E-prix at Parque O'Higgins Circuit on January 26, 2019 in Santiago, Chile. (Photo by Alastair Staley/Handout/Getty Images) Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Santiago E-Prix SANTIAGO, CHILE - JANUARY 26: Daniel Abt (DEU), Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, Audi e-tron FE05 during the Santiago E-prix at Parque O'Higgins Circuit on January 26, 2019 in Santiago, Chile. (Photo by Sam Bagnall/Handout/Getty Images) Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Santiago E-Prix SANTIAGO, CHILE - JANUARY 26: Aerial view of the Santiago circuit during the Santiago E-prix at Parque O'Higgins Circuit on January 26, 2019 in Santiago, Chile. (Photo by Sam Bagnall/Handout/Getty Images) Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Marrakech E-Prix MARRAKECH, MOROCCO - JANUARY 12: In this handout from FIA Formula E, JÃ©rÃ´me d'Ambrosio (BEL), Mahindra Racing, 1st position, celebrates on the podium during the Marrakesh E-prix, Round 2 of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship at Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan on January 12, 2019 in Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan, Morocco. (Photo by Sam Bagnall/Motorsport Images via Getty Images) Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Marrakech E-Prix MARRAKECH, MOROCCO - JANUARY 12: In this handout from FIA Formula E, Alexander Sims (GBR) BMW I Andretti Motorsports, BMW iFE.18, locks up during the Marrakesh E-prix, Round 2 of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship at Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan on January 12, 2019 in Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan, Morocco. (Photo by Joe Portlock/Motorsport Images via Getty Images) Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Ad Diriyah E-Prix AD DIRIYAH, SAUDI ARABIA - DECEMBER 15: Antonio Felix da Costa (PRT), BMW I Andretti Motorsports, BMW iFE.18, Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA), DS TECHEETAH, DS E-Tense FE19 and Jerome d'Ambrosio (BEL), Mahindra Racing, M5 Electro on the podium during the Formula E Championship Ad Diriyah E-Prix on December 15, 2018 in Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Sam Bloxham/Handout/Getty Images) Getty Images Formula E - Best pictures Ad Diriyah E-Prix AD DIRIYAH, SAUDI ARABIA - DECEMBER 15: Jose Maria Lopez (ARG), GEOX Dragon Racing, Penske EV-3, leads Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA), DS TECHEETAH, DS E-Tense FE19 during the Formula E Championship Ad Diriyah E-Prix on December 15, 2018 in Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Malcom Griffiths/Handout/Getty Images) Getty Images

With just three races left of the Championship, Bird expressed his disappointment as he attempted to explain what was behind his loss in form.

“It’s been a massively disappointing run of the last three months, but hopefully that’ll change,” he said.

“There’s been bad luck, quite a bit of that. I’ve made a couple of mistakes and there’s been a few place where we weren’t as competitive as what we’d hoped. Most places we’ve been competitive but haven’t had the rub of the green.

“Paris I made a mistake in FP1 which hampered our entire weekend which was a big shame. And then Berlin we weren’t as quick as we’d hoped.”

Bird struck a bullish mood in the build-up to the Monaco Formula E – insisting that the Championship title was still “within reach” – but the Briton has since readjusted his expectations.

“The objective is just to get as many points as I can for Envision Virgin Racing,” he said. “That’s all I can hope to do at this stage. Nothing else is in the forefront of my mind.”

Reflecting upon his season as a whole, Bird added: “Lots of things to take away from the season, be it good, be it bad. Every race, every weekend there’s something new to learn.

Sam Bird at the Rome ePrix in April (Getty Images for Kaspersky Lab)

“The strive to become a better driver is always there and I’ll continue to learn every single race.”

The Britain also sought to explain the unpredictability which has marked much of this year’s Championship, with a total of eight different drivers claiming victory in the series so far.