Mitch Evans admits his Rome double came at a "critical part of the championship" with the New Zealander wary of losing touch at the top of the Formula E standings.
The Jaguar driver headed to the Italian capital with just one point to his name after three rounds, but left the Eternal City after picking up near maximum points to thrust himself back into contention. Evans has been battling at the business end of the season over the past few years, but was severely out of touch having conceded he "thought this isn't going well" after a below par showing in Mexico.
However a return to form saw the 27-year-old take the chequered flag on Saturday and Sunday, winning from ninth and fourth on the grid. It means Evans in now within nine points of championship leader Jean-Éric Vergne heading into Monaco, a race that the Jaguar driver enjoyed last term, finishing third.
He said: "I knew this was quite a critical part of the championship. I think if we still had the old qualy format I wouldn't have been as concerned, but now every qualifying you have the same opportunity. So even after the first two races I was like 'we need to start ramping things up' and then Mexico happened I thought 'this isn't going well'.
"I would say Rome was critical just not to lose ground. I won two races, scored 50 points but I'm still fourth. Okay I'm close to the top but I'm still fourth. I wouldn't have wanted to leave it any later, no just from a points point of view but also confidence within the team as we weren't performing that well and needed to find answers for that. So we get the points and the confidence."
Evans' qualifying display on Sunday saw him beaten in the semi-final by Jake Dennis. It was the first time the Kiwi - or any Jaguar for that matter - had made it that deep into qualifying. The new format offers more meritocracy as opposed to the old group system.
It means one-lap pace is now a huge factor but Evans admits the team still have a way to go to match the likes of Mercedes, who have taken three of the five poles this season. He said on their performances: "If you take it from the whole season I'd say it has been okay.
"Sunday was the first time we made the duels, some other teams have made every duel like Mercedes and Venturi so we're definitely not the strongest. Even on Sunday when we had a really strong package we made it to the semis, but other teams over one lap and still stronger, it is during the race we did our damage. I would say we're not mid-pack, but maybe in the top four over one lap."
Channel 4 will be broadcasting all 16 rounds of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship on terrestrial television, whether live or on highlights programme. Catch-up on all the information as the series builds up to the 2022 London E-Prix, which returns this year on 30 & 31 July: https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/championship/race-calendar/2021-2022/london
