Three seasons, three different teams and 31 races in and Jean-Eric Vergne’s long wait for a first Formula E win finally ended in Montreal this year.
That victory in Montreal was the undoubted highlight of a season during which JEV helped to turn the newest team in the championship to a genuine – and regular – frontrunner.
Given how late in the day the team came together – there was only time for one installation outing before the official group testing outings – it was no surprise that the team struggled operationally to start with.
The nadir came in round two at Marrakesh, where Vergne was fastest in the group stages of qualifying, but a collective lack of understanding of the rules meant he was sent out too late to participate in Super Pole.
Veteran team manager Dave Stubbs was brought in to whip the outfit into shape thereafter, and back-to-back second places in Buenos Aires and Mexico – where Vergne would have won had Jerome D’Ambrosio not put up such obdurate defence – gave the Frenchman an outside shot of the championship.
However, a collision with Nelson Piquet Jr (and the wall) in Monaco, and a suspension failure (and yet another contact with the wall) in Paris, ended those hopes. An unexpected lack of form in Berlin segued into a strong end of the season with three podiums in four races in New York and Montreal.
It was nothing less that JEV and the team deserved and if it can continue to match the consistency with the pace of the package, there is no reason why the only true customer team in the series shouldn’t be challenging for outright honours next season.