With a total of four wins, six podiums and not a single retirement over the course of the season, Techeetah Formula E's star driver Jean-Eric Vergne is on fine form indeed. Clinching both the drivers' championship title one race early in New York City, the charismatic Frenchman also managed to finish the season with a win and 198 points to his name. Rounding off what has been a momentous season, Vergne's new title is only his second after he won the British Formula 3 championship in 2010. "The 14 and 15 July 2018 is a weekend I will remember all my life. It was an absolutely incredible weekend and it will take me some time to realise," said the champion. "It's by far the highlight of my career - clearly. No question about it."
Since he started out in the all-electric racing series in Season 1, Vergne has undergone nothing short of a total transformation. Coming to the series in 2014 fresh from exiting Formula One team Toro Rosso, the then Andretti Formula E driver arrived restless and disatisfied. "Honestly, when I first came into Formula E, I never thought I'd be here. I don't remember who I was but I was far from what I am today," he says laughing. Moving over to DS Virgin Racing to partner with his future title rival Sam Bird, Vergne raced for the team in Season 2, finishing ninth in the championship with just 56 points, before moving again to Techeetah in Season 3.
Despite reaching the podium five times over the course of the season, it wasn't until the final race in Montreal that the Frenchman managed to climb to the top step, marking his first win in Formula E. Since then and throughout his second season with Techeetah, Vergne's campaign has been a sensational success. Beating his main rival Sam Bird by 54 points and second place championship finisher Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler) by 53 points, Vergne stood well clear of the competition by the time the final chequered flag fell.
Today, as one of Formula E's four champions, Vergne is a changed man but no less determined. "There is still more to do. I won't go crazy because I won the championship this year. I will value it for what it is," he says shrewdly. "My aim was not to win one world title but it was to keep going and do more than this. This is only one step. There's more of JEV to come!" he says with a knowing smile.
And he's not wrong. With the departure of the faithful Gen1 car, that's served the championship for the past four seasons, we welcome in a new era with the radical Gen2 car. "From next season onwards, the level of Formula E is going to increase massively and everyone will be shocked. In the same way people were shocked in the first few seasons when people believed Formula E would never be what it is today," said Vergne. "Formula E still has a lot of surprises for the world and I'm very proud and very happy to be a part of the championship."
Follow Vergne's progress in the next season of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, which kicks off in Ad Diriyah on December 15. Click here to see the full season calendar.