Ever since the very first race of Season 4, on Hong Kong's Harbourfront in December 2017, both Bird and championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne (JEV) have been engaged in a bitter battle for the championship title, fought over 10 races in nine countries over five continents. While Bird led the way for the first three rounds, it was on the streets of Santiago that Frenchman Vergne first placed above Bird, where he's remained ever since. Just 23 points behind Vergne, the championship leader will need to score only seven points more than Bird to take the championship title on Saturday. A daunting prospect for the 31-year-old British driver. "I need to beat JEV on Saturday in order to take it to Sunday and that's just the way it is," says Bird.

But it's been far from an easy ride for the DS driver and his team. Starting off well with a win in the season opener in Hong Kong, Bird has finished in the top five in all but two races this season. With six podium finishes to his name and two outright wins, the British driver has fought a hard fight in Season 4, despite technical difficulties. "I'm already so proud of the team and also proud of myself and what I've been able to achieve so far. But now we find ourselves in a championship fight and I didn't expect it at the beginning of the year but, you know now, why not - why couldn't it be us?" asks Bird confidently.

And the championship hopeful has a point. Having already proven himself on this circuit before - albeit a slightly different version of the Season 4 circuit before us today - with a win in both races of the double-header, Bird arguably has the upper hand in Brooklyn. "I do love this track," he laughs. "What an amazing backdrop we've got here in Red Hook. It's a great place to be and I'm pleased that Formula E has been able to secure one of the biggest cities in the world to host a Formula E event."