When Jean-Eric Vergne made his Formula 1 debut in the 2012 season, he competed for three years with Toro Rosso, with sixth place as his best result. The French driver was left without a seat at the end of the 2014 campaign, before joining Formula E.
Vergne , who has managed to win the electric class championship twice to date, believes racing in Formula E is very different from racing in Formula 1.
Speaking to F1-Insider.com , the French driver said: “I’ll be honest, if I had raced against Max in F1 I wouldn’t have beaten him. He’s at the height of his talent right now and seems to be unbeatable. But I’m sure he wouldn’t be as unbeatable in Formula E.”
“We may be slower in the corners, but we fight a lot with the car. It’s very difficult to push these cars to the limit. We also need to save as much energy as possible during the race, while fighting the other drivers wheel to wheel.”
“So your brain is more active than in F1. Driving these cars is like playing chess.”
“It feels good to be part of Formula E, we are ambassadors of electric mobility. We race in the most beautiful cities and show what electric vehicles are capable of. So we not only race, but also motivate this movement. I think that’s something important, because this is what the future is all about.
“In 20 years we will no longer see gasoline cars. In some cities maybe even sooner. That is the path we must follow. The brands must make the best cars in this field and motorsport is becoming a laboratory again. And Formula E is the best laboratory in this regard, because the cars of tomorrow are developed here.”
Beyond the importance of electrification in the not-too-distant future, Vergne also wanted to highlight the challenges they face when competing in the electric single-seater category.
“Sometimes you win races and you don’t know what you’ve done to deserve it. Other times you don’t win and you don’t know what you’re doing wrong either. The trick is just to focus on yourself to get the best out of your car, which is hard work. “.
“We spend a lot of time with the engineers in the factory and we do a lot of simulator work. In fact, I do more work now than in Formula 1. I would say that Formula E drivers spend much more time in the simulator than in any other series.” Vergne concluded.
