The Formula E team - and driver - resetting in Rome

"We're looking at Rome as the start of our season again."

These are the words of Jaguar team boss James Barclay ahead of this weekend's ABB FIA Formula E race in Rome.

The reason for that mindset being necessary is the massive upheaval that took place at the British FE squad shortly after the preceding event at Sanya: it "mutually agreed" to part ways with Nelson Piquet Jr, with Alex Lynn coming in as his replacement.

Lynn is no stranger to the FE paddock after racing for the Envision Virgin Racing team last year, and claiming pole on his debut in a one-off appearance for the same squad in New York the season before. It was arguably in Rome in 2018 when his first full campaign really unravelled, with two practice crashes and then a retirement in the race that followed early contact in the pact at the start. He lost his Virgin drive at the end of the season.

Lynn tested for Jaguar ahead of its entry into FE for the 2016/17 season, ultimately losing out to his now team-mate Mitch Evans for a drive alongside Adam Carroll. He also knows the team will from his time as Williams's Formula 1 development and test driver in 2015-2016, with the grand prix squad's Advanced Engineering arm running the Jaguar FE outfit.

But his previous FE experience was a key factor in why Jaguar picked him to drive its #3 entry, according to Barclay: "That's key halfway through the season as there's not a lot of time to fully prepare, so we need someone who has experience of [FE] and the nuances. For us, it was clear he was the right person to get in the car for now."

To prepare Lynn for his first race with the team, Jaguar organised a filming day took place at the Mallory Park circuit in the run up to the Rome race. He has also spent time in the team's simulator to get ready for his first proper run in a Gen2 machine.

In practice his finished 21st in both sessions, but in qualifying ended up ninth, equalling Piquet's best grid spot of the year at the first attempt. However, it was discovered after the session that his car had gone over the 250kW power limit and he will start 21st as a result.

"If we have a clean run, which is what we're going [to] plan to do, I think we can arrive at hopefully somewhere near the points," he says. "That's at the very least what I'd like to be achieving."

But Jaguar is understandably taking a "realistic" approach to what it expects from Lynn on his first race back.

"Alex's first race for us, first in the Gen2 car, it's going to take some time I'm sure," continues Barclay. "We want to make the environment cohesive for him to perform at his best and enjoy his racing, and we both know that's what gets the best out of drivers."

Having two drivers collecting regular points is ultimately what Jaguar has been missing - although it must be pointed out that it hasn't looked like it has the package to fight at the front at any point so far in the 2018/19 championship - as Piquet scored just a single point to Evans's 36 from Riyadh to Sanya.

That is why Jaguar needs a reset in Rome. It currently sits eighth in the teams' standings on 37 points, nine adrift of Nissan, which has rather underperformed given the pace it has shown in recent events. Venturi is then a further 21 points ahead.

Ideally, Jaguar needs Lynn to at least start matching Evans's points hauls - the New Zealander hasn't finished outside the top 10 so far this season. If not, the team could end up being left behind in FE's ultra-tight title fight.