Sam Bird believes he can mount a serious challenge for next year’s FIA Formula E Drivers Championship.

The Roehampton star’s 2015-16 campaign came to an abrupt halt on Sunday in a dramatic incident packed opening lap of Fthe IA Formula E Visa London ePrix at Battersea Park.

Immediately after Switzerland’s newly crowned FIA Formula E drivers champion Sebastien Buemi and Brazilian Lucas di Grassi collided in the first turn, Bird’s DS Virgin Racing Formula E car lost all power and with it any hope of a repeat of last year’s final round victory on his home track.

The 29-year-old said: “There was nothing I could do. The throttle stuck open and the car shut down in safety mode. 

“It is not the way I wanted to end. I had a strong start to the race in P4 and I was looking to go forward, but that’s racing I suppose and it happens.”

It turned out to be a fantastic weekend in south London for Renault e.dams as they not only bagged both the individual and team titles, their French driver Nico Prost completed a unique double by winning the final two races.

Meanwhile south Londoner Bird began the weekend keen to hold on to third in the standings - and although he dropped to finish fourth, it was an improvement on last season's sixth place.  

“Overall I am happy, it’s been a strong season,” he added.

“I’m very happy with the driving that I’ve done and it’s a shame we couldn’t hold on to P3 in the drivers’ championship, but we get P3 in the teams and we push forward to next year.”

And Bird is keen to end up on the champions podium come next July when the season finale moves across the Atlantic to New York, USA, sadly ending car racing at Battersea after two fantastic years.

“This grid is full of amazing drivers,” Bird added. “I’ll try my best, but there’s a long way to go yet. 

“We’ve only just finished this one. We’ve got pre-season testing and then look forward to the start of the season on October.”

Bird starts his 2016-17 campaign in Hong Kong on October 9.