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There is
more fight
more fun
in the
racing
than In F1 /
Jean-Eric Vergne
current-e.com
Jean-Eric VergnE plans to see out the rest of the
Formula E season with Andretti. After two pole
positions and three Fanboost wins in three races,
he’s still hunting for his first podium finish.
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T
he taut white fabric of the temporary garages
seems to glow in the mid-afternoon Miami
sunshine, almost as if the lines of squareedged structures are lit from within. The light glitters
and bounces off the deep blue of the harbour waters,
the moat bowing to the castle ramparts of the paddock
buildings and the sand coloured harbour wall.
The afternoon relaxes between imperious concrete
roadways that stretch out left and right, framing
the square spit of land that Formula E has claimed.
Enormous cruise ships sit like floating tower blocks
just across the bay and, in between, a small seaplane
wheels and dives like a seagull before alighting on
the surface of the water with barely a fleck of spray.
It’s two days before the first US race of the maiden
Formula E season but the Frenchman hoping for victory
in an American car appears anything but nervous.
Jean-Eric Vergne is one of the star billings of the
new series. The man more commonly known as JEV
arrived without much fanfare at the third Formula E
race, in Uruguay. The softly spoken F1 refugee had
just left Toro Rosso, the mid-field team that feeds Red
Bull, the outfit that has dominated racing’s top table
in recent years. Many felt that JEV should have been
promoted to the senior team when Mark Webber
departed, but instead it was JEV’s counterpart who
made the move. When Toro Rosso announced two
new faces for 2015, JEV was left without a drive. It
was an ignominious end to a strong F1 career, where
he’d improved in the driver standings every season
for three consecutive years.
Still, shirtless (“No photos,” he says), reclining,
trademark red shoes crossed, JEV is not a man who
seems unhappy with his lot. Having not previously set
foot in the complex Formula E car, he bagged pole
position in Uruguay and very nearly won the race.
Vergne is relishing the new challenge.
“You know, when you come from Formula One
but you are not in the best team and you need to
beat a team mate who has a weight advantage, the
whole of the season, and then you arrive in a car where
everybody has the same, no weight disadvantage or
these kinds of problems – it’s extremely easy,” says
JEV, with almost stereotypical Gallic nonchalance.
His eyes are hidden behind green mirrored aviator
sunglasses but the smile on his face leaves no doubt
about his feelings. “It’s like running in the sand with
20kg bags on your back. You’re used to running for
three years like this, and then you come onto solid
ground with no bags. You seem to be flying.”
“Easy” may seem to make light of the rest of the
Formula E field (around three quarters of the drivers
have F1 backgrounds), but having experience of
F1’s new hybrid engines and focus on fuel saving
may have made the switch to Spark-Renault and the
energy efficient driving style required less of a leap
for him than for others.
Still, even JEV admits the Formula E car isn’t the
most straightforward machine to master. “I don’t
think you’ll ever get used to this car, to be honest,”
he laughs.
current-e.com
JEV was a revelation on his first outing in Punta del
Este. Many expected him to be fast, and qualifying is
all about maximum attack, maximum speed. But no
one foresaw such strong race pace, which had him
leading until a suspension collapse ruled him out.
Part of the challenge with the Spark-Renault is
in figuring out how and when to adjust the levels of
regenerative braking through each stint. Energy can
be recovered via the rear wheels. The driver uses a
paddle and dial on the steering wheel to select different
modes, but these must be balanced in unison with
the mechanical brake bias, and the levels must be
adjusted as the battery energy wanes.
Many drivers have also been caught out by
temperature. As the batteries and motors are put
through their paces, they heat up. Using regenerative
braking puts more load into the system and, therefore,
more heat. When the powertrain gets too hot, it
effectively enters a “limp home” mode, which slows
the car significantly.
All in all, there’s a lot to think about without trying
to stay away from the aggressive kerbs and concrete
walls, and yet JEV looked to be set for a win in his
first race – until that suspension failure. “I don’t know
what happened,” he reflects, three months later. “It
happens sometimes to some drivers. I didn’t touch
the wall or whatever, so I don’t know why.”
Almost every driver has had a problem with the
fragile suspension at some point, whether at preseason
testing last summer or in the races themselves. Car
maker Spark spotted the problem early, and has
developed a stronger front upper wishbone and
rear pushrod to counter the issue. The parts were
first brought to Miami, and seemed to do the trick.
But that didn’t change the DNF for JEV in Uruguay,
although the fact that points are awarded for pole
position in Formula E proved some small consolation.
The end of 2014 came and went, and Argentina
beckoned in the first week of January. After his
Andretti
has got one
of the most
data-driven,
scientific
approaches
of the
whole
paddock
/ / /
stirring performance in Punta del Este, JEV was widely
expected to put in a strong showing again. Buenos
Aires proved more challenging, however. He both
qualified and finished in P6.
“It wasn’t that bad,” he says. “The car was not as
good as it was in Uruguay but hopefully it should be
back to a good standard here in Miami. I don’t know
what changes between the races. But I believe the
guys have done a good job.”
Figuring out how to prepare the car for each race
has been the unseen battle of the championship. While
there is relatively little that can be changed with the
mechanical set up of the cars (suspension settings and
wing angles and not much more), the software settings
that control the power maps are completely down to
each team. Limited live telemetry means that it’s tough
for engineers to figure out exactly what is happening
during each session, and the short practice sessions
yield virtually no chance to change the approach on
race day. Getting the best from the car at each brand
new circuit is no easy task.
“Andretti has got one of the most data-driven,
scientific approaches of the whole paddock,” says
Marc Priestley, technical analyst for ITV’s Formula E
programme and a former F1 mechanic. “The team
translates that for the driver, and that’s what allows
drivers like JEV and Scott Speed to just get in, drive,
and be very quick.”
The white and blue Andretti cars have seen a raft
of different drivers – six in five races. The changing
line-up doesn’t seem to have slowed down the
progress of the American outfit however, with the
team scoring 62 points in those five events: good
enough for fourth position.
In the end, the Miami race didn’t go JEVs way.
He secured pole again and fended off Sam Bird
for most of the first half of the race in a display of
confident defensive driving. But the second stint
proved disastrous, with Vergne dropping down the
current-e.com
In F1 , there’s
already
so many
differences
between the
cars. Here,
we all have
the same
cars. We
fight. It’s cool
/ / /
order with overheating issues. He retired with two
laps remaining, finishing in P18 in the final reckoning.
His team mate, the American driver Scott Speed,
qualified in P11 but drove through the field to pick
up a podium position.
After Miami, there are six races left. Despite some
scintillating performances, Vergne has scored just
14 points, good enough only for P15 in the drivers’
championship. That puts him behind Speed, whose
second place finish has earned him 18 points in his
sole outing so far. It also puts him behind two other
notable Frenchmen – Montagny, who picked up 18
points for Andretti in the season opener in Beijing,
and championship leader Prost, who has amassed 67
points with the e.dams-Renault team.
The question is no longer one of outright speed,
but of whether Vergne is over-driving the sensitive
Spark-Renault. When it comes to JEV’s prospects in
this first Formula E season, the old racing adage has
never seemed truer: to finish first, first you must finish.
“I absolutely don’t think of that at all,” says
Vergne, shrugging when asked about championship
prospects. “We’ll see where we are at the end of the
year but I don’t put myself as a contender for the title.
I put myself as a contender to win races. We’ll see.”
As to whether or not he’ll stick with Formula E
this year, he says simply: “Yes, I think I will do the rest
of the season.”
The relaxed mood of the Formula E paddock seems
to suit the laid back Frenchman. After a disappointing
end to his time with Toro Rosso, Vergne has since been
hired by Ferrari for F1 simulator work.
“I don’t feel bad,” he says. “I quit Toro Rosso but
I arrived in Ferrari and I still have chance to get back
next year. I wouldn’t say you’d get a chance after being
away for two years, but after just one year, there’s
a chance. I’m keeping myself busy in the simulator
with the best team in Formula One, keeping up to
date with all the new technologies and new ways of
working with the best teams – Red Bull and Ferrari.
And I keep myself busy with racing good drivers. It’s
not a bad deal.”
Andretti was recently announced as one of
Formula E’s second season manufacturers, and JEV thinks
this will be an important step forward for the sport. “As
long as you’ve got a championship with constructors,
putting in a decent programme of development, then
the championship can become established,” he says.
“It will be important. The new cars will be good. There
are exciting things to look forward to.”
In the meantime, he’s enjoying the wheel to wheel
action that characterises Formula E. “There is more
fight, more fun, in the racing, the overtaking, than in
F1,” JEV says. “In F1, if you touch one wheel or one
white line, then you’ve got a drive through penalty or
a 10 second penalty. I don’t find that it’s really racing
so much anymore. There’s already so many differences
between the cars. Here, we all have the same cars. We
fight. It’s cool.”
With three Fanboost wins in three races, JEV
continues to have an extra edge in the races too. It’s
an advantage he’s enjoying: “I’m just thankful for all my
fans who are able to give me the Fanboost. I hope to
give back to them by winning races. When you want to
overtake someone, when you want to keep a position,
it does make a little bit of a difference, like DRS in F1.
It keeps people interested in their drivers.”
JEV is unquestionably one of the fastest drivers in
the Formula E field. What he must now prove is that
he can tailor his approach in the race to avoid unduly
stressing the car. If he can manage that, the second
half of the season may be his for the taking. For now,
it’s good to see the young Frenchman with a smile on
his face. Carefree, surrounded by old friends and in a
competitive car, the Frenchman is living his national
motto: liberty, equality, fraternity.
“Coolest interview ever,” says perhaps the coolest
racing driver ever, before spotting a seagull on the
harbour wall.
“Hey,” he shouts to Shiv, our photographer, leaping
to his feet. “Get me and the bird!”
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