Jean-Eric Vergne

Jean-Eric Vergne is a French racing driver who is a regular competitor in the FIA Formula E Championship since the inaugural season in 2014, and the winner of two consecutive Formula E championship titles in 2018 and 2019.

Before entering electric racing, he raced for three seasons in Formula One between 2012 and 2014, collecting 58 starts for Scuderia Toro Rosso. Prior to F1, he was the French Formula Renault champion and the winner of the British Formula 3 championship.

Return to the roots - Vergne with friends from Sodikart Racing Team

Racing from the age of four

Jean-Eric was born on April 25th, 1990, in Pontoise, France. He started competing in karting soon after he learned to walk, at the age of 4, due to the fact that his father was the owner of the kart racing circuit near Paris, so the young Jean-Eric spent lots of time there.

He officially entered his first competition at the age of 10 and became the 2001 French champion in the Minimes category. Step by step, he progressed through various French and international competitions, until he finished seventh in the 2006 World Championship.

Championship title in debuting season with cars

After that, it was time to switch to bigger racing machines and Jean-Eric entered the Formula Renault Campus championship. In his debuting season, he stormed the competition and took the title with six wins and ten podiums in 13 races. He was rewarded with Red Bull Junior Team membership.

Best rookie in the Formula Renault 2.0 competitions

In 2008, Vergne competed in both the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup. He was driving for SG Formula team and scored a total of four podiums in 29 races. As the best placed rookie driver in both series, he finished sixth in the Eurocup competition and fourth in the WEC competition. He also won the French FR 2.0 title, which was awarded to the best French driver in the WEC classification.

Vergne raced two seasons in the Formula Renault 2.0 competitions

Vergne was a double runner-up in 2009

Vergne spent one more season with SG Formula in both Formula Renault competitions. He was one of the leading drivers, winning five of 28 races, finishing second behind Spaniard Albert Costa in both series.

Busy year in three different competitions

The season 2010 was the probably Vergne's busiest year in his career. He moved to the British Formula 3 Championship, but also competed in the GP3 Series, Formula Renault 3.5 Series and finally, at the end of the year, he participated in the official F1 testing for Scuderia Toro Rosso.

Vergne was 2010 British Formula 3 champion

British Formula 3 champion in a dominant way

Driving the Volkswagen-powered Dallara F308 for Carlin, Vergne won the British F3 championship with 13 wins in 30 races. He took twelve victories in the first 24 races and secured the title with six races to go. At the end, he collected almost 100 points more than his teammate James Calado. Vergne also participated in two non-championship F3 events, finishing fourth at Masters of F3 and event at Macau Grand Prix.

In the 2010 GP3 Series season, Vergne participated in four races, driving for Tech 1 Racing in the opening round in Barcelona and later in Valencia. His best result was the fourth place in Valencia.

Vergne at 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed

FR 3.5 Series victory at Silverstone

Vergne planned to compete with SG Formula in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, but the team withdrew from competition a week before the first race. He then turned his focus on the F3 campaign, but in July, it was announced that he would replace Brendon Hartley at Tech 1 Racing for the final three events of the FR 3.5 Series. In six races he reached four podiums, including the victory at Silverstone.

The first ride with a F1 car at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Vergne had the first opportunity to drive a Formula One car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July 2010, and it was the fantastic Red Bull RB1. In November 2010, he participated in the post-season official F1 test for young drivers at the Yas Marina Circuit. He was driving Toro Rosso STR5 and he set the seventh fastest lap time on Day 1 and the ninth fastest time on Day 2.

Vergne lost the 2011 FR 3.5 Series title from Robert Wickens

Wickens stole the FR 3.5 Series title

In 2011, Jean-Eric became the full-season driver for Carlin in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. He won at Monza in May, but had to wait for the confirmation of his victory because he was given a time penalty and demoted to third place. After an appeal, the penalty was overturned.

He scored four more wins and fought for the title against his teammate Robert Wickens. In the final race of the season, in Barcelona, they collided on the opening lap. Wickens retired immediately, Vergne retired later, so Wickens became the champion with nine points more than Vergne.

Vergne was the fastest driver at the 2011 Young drivers F1 test in Abu Dhabi

Fastest young driver at the Abu Dhabi test

Vergne made one step further to Formula One at the end of the season, participating in the free practice sessions for Scuderia Toro Rosso at three Grand Prix races - in Korea, Abu Dhabi, and Brazil. In November of 2011, Vergne tested the title-winning Red Bull RB7 at the young driver test in Abu Dhabi. He set the fastest lap times on all three days.

Video : 2012 United States Grand Prix practice with Jean-Eric Vergne

F1 debut at the 2012 Australian Grand Prix

It was the final proof that he deserves a place in the Formula One team and he debuted in the premium single-seater series in March 2012, at season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Vergne's teammate in Scuderia Toro Rosso was Daniel Ricciardo.

Vergne and Ricciardo at the launch of STR7 car for 2012

Two seasons in Toro Rosso alongside Daniel Ricciardo

They competed with the Ferrari-powered STR7 and Vergne outperformed the Australian teammate. Vergne collected 16 points and finished 17th in the final standings, one place ahead of Ricciardo. Vergne earned the points finishing four times in eighth place.

The two were again teammates in the 2013 season. This time, Ricciardo was better, finishing 14th with 20 points. Vergne collected 13 points and finished one place behind his teammate. Vergne improved his best result with 6th place at the Canadian Grand Prix, and this remains his career-best F1 result.

Vergne and Kvyat were teammates in 2014

2014 and another sixth place

In 2014, Toro Rosso replaced the Ferrari engine with Renault. Daniel Ricciardo, who moved to Red Bull, was replaced by Daniil Kvyat. Jean-Eric was more successful than the Russian teammate and finished 13th in the championship standings with 22 points on his account. He equalized his best result with sixth place at Singapore Grand Prix.

Vergne became the Ferrari simulator man

In August 2014, it was announced that Kvyat would be joined in the Toro Rosso team by Max Verstappen for 2015, leaving Vergne without a seat. However, after Sebastian Vettel left Red Bull, Kvyat moved to the main squad, leaving a free seat for someone. After all negotiations and talks, Carlos Sainz Jr landed in the Toro Rosso team, while Vergne got a job inside Ferrari as a test and development driver, mainly focused on simulator work.

2015 Long Beach e-Prix podium: Vergne, Piquet Jr., and Di Grassi

A switch to the electrified formula

While sitting in the simulator, Vergne wanted some real racing and he joined the Andretti Autosport in the inaugural season of the FIA Formula E Championship. Vergne debuted in the third round in Uruguay and immediately took pole position. He retired with a broken suspension two laps before the end of race, while fighting for victory against Sebastien Buemi.

Two podiums in the inaugural Formula E season

Vergne scored his first Formula E podium in Long Beach, finishing second behind the eventual champion Nelson Piquet Jr. With one more podium, the third place in London, Vergne finished seventh in the final standings.

For his second season (2015-2016) in the Formula E championship, Vergne joined DS Virgin Racing. Vergne scored his third podium in Formula E at the 2016 Paris e-Prix and one more podium in the season's finale at London's Battersea Park, to finish 9th in the final standings.

Vergne scored his maiden Formula E victory in 2017 and then four more in 2018

FIA WEC debut and maiden FE victory in 2017

For the third Formula E season (2016-2017), Vergne found a seat in another team, the China-based Techeetah. After four podiums over the season, he claimed his maiden FE victory in the last race of the season in Montreal, finishing fifth in the points.

He also joined CEFC Manor TRS Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship, to drive Oreca 07 (Gibson) prototype in the LMP2 class. In eight races, he was on a podium once. In his debut at 24 Hours of Le Mans he was 7th overall and 6th in LMP2 class.

Jean-Eric Vergne is the 2017-2018 Formula E champion

Double Formula E champion

In the fourth Formula E season, staying with Techeetah, Vergne was on a podium in the season-opening race at Hong Kong and then scored two wins in Chile and Uruguay, taking over the championship lead. He later added two more wins in Paris and New York, becoming the champion in the fourth season of the electric single-seater competition.

Parallel to his FE commitments, Vergne raced in the European Le Mans Series with G-Drive Racing, scoring three wins and helping Roman Rusinov and Andrea Pizzitola to become LMP2 class champions. Vergne himself finished in the second place. They also raced as an invitational entry in two FIA WEC rounds, winning the race at Spa and being disqualified at Le Mans.

In the fifth Formula E season, the new Gen2 cars has been introduced. Vergne stayed with Techeetah, scoring his first win of the season in the sixth round in Sanya, China. He added two more wins at Monaco and Bern, entering the season's finale in New York as a championship leader. Although he wasn't among the front-runners at New York City ePrix, Vergne managed to win his second title.

Jean-Eric Vergne is celebrating his second Formula E title

Photos: sodikart.com, autoplus.fr, caradisiac.com, gpupdate.net, gettyimages.co.uk.