Jean-eric Vergne

At 34 years old, Jean-eric Vergne has this physical status:

Jean-Éric Vergne (born 25 April 1990), also known as JEV, is a French racing driver who competes in the FIA Formula E Championship with the TECHEETAH Formula E team.

He became the 2018 ABB Formula E World Champion, after clinching fifth in the New York ePrix in 2018, and he became the first Formula E driver to win two consecutive championships after his repeat success in the 2018-19 season.

He competed in Formula One for Scuderia Toro Rosso from 2012 to 2014, and was a Ferrari test and development driver from 2015 to 2016.

He won the British Formula 3 Championship in 2010 and then finished runner up to teammate Robert Wickens in the 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season.

Personal life

In 2018, Vergne signed a partnership with Veloce Esports. They became the co-founders of Veloce Racing, a racing team currently part of Extreme E.

Vergne plays the piano. In addition to his native French, Vergne also speaks English, Italian, and Spanish. He considers André Lotterer, his teammate from 2017 to 2019, a close friend.

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Career

Vergne, a French-born boy, started competing in karting at age 4 at his father's kart circuit near Paris. In 2000, he entered his first competition in 2000 and became the French champion of the "kids" ("Minimes") category. He became the runner-up in the French Rotax Max championship three years ago. He finished second in the ICA class of the European Championship in 2005, behind James Calado, with the highlight of his karting career being the second in the premier KF1 World Championships held in Angerville, another track near Paris.

Vergne introduced single-seater racing in 2007, winning the French Formula Renault Campus series, winning a prestigious first round at the first attempt, earning ten podium positions out of ten races in the process. At the end of the 2007 season, Vergne became a member of both the Red Bull Junior Team and the French Automobile Sport Federation (FFSA).

Vergne also competed in both the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup championships for SG Formula in the following seasons. He finished sixth in the Eurocup rankings, with nine points scoring positions in fourteen races, including a podium in Barcelona's final race of the season. He took fourth place in the West European Cup, scoring three podium positions.

In both series, he finished as the best French driver in the West European Cup standings, and in addition, he captured the French Formula Renault 2.0 title, which was given to the best French driver in the West European Cup standings.

Vergne remained in both championships with SG Formula in 2009. In both the Eurocup and the WEC, he came in second, behind Spain's Albert Costa.

Vergne qualified for multiple champions Carlin in the British Formula 3 Championship in 2010. He won 12 races from the first 24 races, including a clean sweep of three victories at the Spa-Francorchamps round. With six races remaining in the season, it was enough to give him the title. It was the third year that a driver from the Red Bull Junior Team had won the Grand Prix with Carlin, following Jaime Alguersuari in 2008 and Daniel Ricciardo in 2009.

Vergne also competed in the two main non-championship Formula Three championships, the Masters of Formula 3 at Zandvoort, where he came fourth, and the Macau Grand Prix, where he finished in seventh place. On both occasions, he was also the highest-place finisher from the British series.

Vergne was signed by Tech 1 Racing in May 2010 to attend the first GP3 Series round in Barcelona. Jim Pla for the next round in Turkey because it clashed with the British Formula 3 event at Hockenheim, but the team reassembles in Valencia for the following round. However, in early July, it was announced that Daniel Juncadella would take Vergne's place in the team's remainder of the season.

Vergne had intended to participate in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series for SG Formula alongside his Formula Three campaign. However, SG Formula pulled out a week before the first race, allowing Vergne to concentrate on his Formula Three campaign.

After Hartley was released by the Red Bull Junior Team in July 2010, Vergne would swap Brendon Hartley at Tech 1 Racing for the final three events of the season. Despite being in attendance in those meetings, Vergne finished eighth in the championship with four podium positions, including his first series victory at Silverstone after original race winner Esteban Guerrieri was disqualified for a technical violation.

In 2011, Vergne went from Tech 1 Racing to Carlin, converting from Tech 1 Racing to Carlin. Vergne was awarded a time penalty and demoted to third place after winning the second race in May and being ordered to cut a chicane in order to hold the race's lead. However, after his Carlin team's appeal, the Italian Motorsports Commission (CSAI) reversed the penalty and reinstated Vergne to the victory.

Vergne defeated series chief and teammate Robert Wickens by two points in Barcelona's final round of the season, despite winning five races, including a double victory at the Hungaroring. Wickens and Vergne collided on the first lap, sending Wickens and Vergne into retirement. Although Vergne was able to continue, Mofaz Racing's Fairuz Fauzy took the title from him later, losing the game by only nine points to Wickens.

Vergne was the first outing in a Formula One car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July 2010, riding a Red Bull RB5. In September 2010, it was announced that he would drive for Toro Rosso in the post-season young driver competition at Yas Marina Circuit in November, with the team later announcing that he would drive the Toro Rosso STR5 for both days of the test. He ran the fastest time on the first day of the competition in 1:42.489, completing 93 laps in the process.

Vergne took the ninth fastest lap of the test on the second day of the test, just 0.030 seconds behind Williams of new GP2 champion Pastor Maldonado. He also had to leave the test early to fly to Macau for the end-of-season Formula Three event due to an engine-related problem that limited his racing.

Vergne was announced in August 2011 during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend that would begin in selected first practice sessions later this season, with Toro Rosso's team later announcing that he would compete in three of the remaining four racing weekends, beginning at the Korean Grand Prix. He did not participate in qualifying at the Indian Grand Prix to give racers Jaime Alguersuari and Sébastien Buemi the fastest track time at the brand new circuit. Vergne was 11th fastest during free practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, less than 0.3 seconds off Alguersuari, who was in the other STR6.

At the young driver test in Abu Dhabi in November 2011, Vergne tested the title-winning Red Bull RB7, resulting in the fastest lap time on all three days.

Vergne and fellow Red Bull Junior Team member Daniel Ricciardo officially announced their participation in Toro Rosso in the 2012 season on December 14th. Vergne earned his first World Championship points at the following Malaysian Grand Prix by finishing eighth in a rain-affected race after qualifying and finishing in eleventh position. During an overtake attempt, he turned into Heikki Kovalainen's car from outside the track, wrecking both cars and scattering enough rubble to justify a deployment. The stewards discovered that the incident was avoidable and that Vergne caused the crash. In addition, a €25,000 fine, he will receive a 10-position double-penalty for his qualifying result at the British Grand Prix.

This was also his first race retirement in Formula One as he had performed well at the previous seven races on schedule. Vergne would not score again until the Belgian Grand Prix, but they did score again four races later, in the Korean Grand Prix and then the Brazilian Grand Prix, the season's grand prix. Vergne finished 17th in the Drivers' Championship with 16 points, out of a total of 16 points for the four eighth-place finishes. Despite not scoring points as often as Daniel Ricciardo, he completed the season ahead of Ricciardo.

Despite having ties with the Caterham of Charles Pic, Vergne started the season with a twelfth-place finish at the Australian Grand Prix before taking his first point of the season with tenth position in Malaysia. Vergne did not score points again until the Monaco Grand Prix, where he finished eighth in eighth place, his highest result of his career. Vergne had the best qualifying of his career for the Canadian Grand Prix when he placed seventh on the grid before going on to finish sixth the following day in the series. The remainder of the year was a disaster, with three former employees finishing in 15th position and 15th in the standings with a total of 13 points, while Daniel Ricciardo outscored him to earn 20 points.

In 2013, Vergne would return to Toro Rosso alongside rookie Daniil Kvyat, who had replaced Ricciardo at the team. Vergne excelled in the season opener in Australia, defeating champions Kimi Räikkönen, Sebastian Vettel, and Jenson Button, who finished the race just ahead of his colleague in ninth place, despite Daniel Ricciardo's disqualification. He qualified ninth in Malaysia, but did not finish the race after getting a bad start and colliding with the Marussia and Caterham, while his rookie teammate Kvyat finished tenth. In Bahrain, Vergne resigned after being disqualified in the following race. Vergne qualified in ninth at the Chinese Grand Prix, while Kvyat placed 13th in the wet weather. Vergne had a rough start and finished in 12th place, though Kvyat scored again in tenth place, leading to a tenth place finish.

Vergne's fortune did not improve as the calendar moved to Europe for the Spanish Grand Prix. In Friday practice, a wheel was not properly fitted, which resulted in him being awarded a ten-place grid penalty. As a result, he started from 21st position, only ahead of Pastor Maldonado, who died in Q1. Vergne got off to a good start in the Marussias and Caterhams after pulling away from Maldonado for the third time in five races due to technical difficulties. Vergne won for the fifth time in eight races after finishing eighth in the previous season in Canada. Vergne was able to qualify to Q3 for the 6th time in the following series, finishing the race in 10th and 10th. Vergne finished eighth in Hungary under challenging weather, but he came in second after pitting after a safety car; he remained in second place in the middle of a fight involving Nico Rosberg, Sebastian Vettel, and Lewis Hamilton. However, after his second stop, he fell back to finish in ninth place.

Despite two five-second time penalties, Vergne was able to post his best-ever Formula One result with a sixth-place finish after a late charge that saw him pass Nico Hülkenberg, Kimi Räikkönen, and Valtteri Bottas in the final four laps of the race. Despite starting 20th on the grid, Vergne finished ninth in Japan in worsening wet conditions. He finished ninth in the Russian Grand Prix, while Kvyat placed fifth in his home country. Vergne climbed to fifth and made a turn around Kevin Magnussen at turn three at the start of the series. Nevertheless, Vergne slowed to finish 13th, ahead of Kvyat, finishing 13th.

Kvyat will be joined by Max Verstappen in the Toro Rosso team for 2015, leaving Vergne without a drive for the 2015 season. However, after Sebastian Vettel left Red Bull, Kvyat would be recalled, leaving a potential seat for Vergne at Toro Rosso for 2015. Vergne revealed on November 26, 2014, that he would leave Toro Rosso for 2015, and Carlos Sainz Jr will take his place.

It was reported on December 19, 2014, that Vergne would join Ferrari in 2015 as a test and innovation driver primarily responsible for simulator development. In February 2017, he left Ferrari.

After being unable to find a full time drive for the 2015 Formula One season, he joined Andretti Autosport in the FIA Formula E Championship. Vergne made his debut in Uruguay's third race of the season and gained pole position. Vergne was overtaken at the start by Nelson Piquet Jr., who retook the lead on lap 12. Vergne dropped the lead to Sébastien Buemi after the pit stops, but he continued to pursue Buemi until he was banned from racing two laps before the end of the contest. He captured his first podium appearance in Long Beach, finishing second behind race winner Piquet. In the first run at the London ePrix, he came in third, beating Piquet and Lucas di Grassi in the process. He came in 16th in the second race after receiving a drive-through penalty. He ended up finishing seventh in the final championship standings, earning 70 points.

Vergne would join the DS Virgin Racing team for the 2015-2016 Formula E season, partnering Sam Bird on August 8, 2015. Vergne struggled to qualify with Bird and finished ninth in the championship.

Following the purchase of Team Aguri, Vergne announced in July 2016 that it would compete with the recently formed Techeetah. Vergne earned the first podium, fastest lap award, and the team's first victory at the 2016–17 season finale in Montréal.

Vergne was confirmed to continue with the team in the 2017–18 season. At the 2018 Punta del Este ePrix, he won his second match at the 2018 Santiago ePrix and his third victory in his Formula E career. Vergne clinched the trophy with a race to spare in New York, becoming the fourth different driver's champion in four seasons after stringing together a string of point finishes.

Vergne stayed with Techeetah for the 2018–19 season, winning 3 races in Sanya, Monaco, and Bern. He was also the world's first repeat champion for the second year in a row.

Vergne will compete with António Félix da Costa in the 2019-20 season, replacing the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team bound André Lotterer (who was his colleague from 2017 to 2019). Despite missing FP1 due to a fever, Vergne achieved his first podium finish in Marrakesh after two points finish and two retirements. During FP1, James Rossiter, a Super GT and Super Formula veteran, took his position. Vergne had two podium finishes in two of the six rounds in Berlin, finishing third in round three and scoring his first victory of the season in round four, after a brief hiatus to the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He would finish third in the championship standings, just one point behind Stoffel Vandoorne.

Vergne was employed at DS Techeetah for the 2020-21 season. Vergne failed to score in Diriyah and won the first race in rome, leaving Italy with 25 points after four races. After being squeezed into the wall after enabling attack mode, Vergne failed to finish in the first run in Puebla. Vergne finished second in New York on day 1, but stayed in his 24th slot on the grid after the lights went out the next day, giving him his second DNF. Vergne failed to score in London and finished the season in tenth with 80 points, 19 behind De Vries who won the championship.

Vergne completed his DS Techeetah for the sixth season in a row. Vergne received 12 points from Diriyah and came in third in Mexico. His two poles were in the second round in Rome and Jakarta, finishing second in both race and Jakarta, as well as two others, who scored two more podium podiums in Monaco and Berlin in between. In both second races in New York and London, Vergne had a DNF. Both came from contact. Vergne finished 6th in both races in Seoul, putting him fourth in fourth place with 144 points.

Vergne will join the newly formed DS Penske team alongside reigning champion Stoffel Vandoorne for the 2023 season in October 2022.

Vergne has joined Peugeot's manufacturing team to compete in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship at the Hypercar category.

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