Jean-Éric Vergne facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jean-Éric Vergne
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![]() Vergne at the 2024 6 Hours of Fuji
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Born |
Jean-Éric Serge Raymond Vergne
25 April 1990 Pontoise, France
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Formula E career | |
Debut season | 2014–15 |
Current team | DS Penske |
Racing licence | ![]() |
Car no. | 27 (2014–2015) 25 (2015–present) |
Former teams | Andretti, Virgin, Techeetah |
Starts | 146 |
Championships | 2 (2017–18, 2018–19) |
Wins | 11 |
Podiums | 38 |
Poles | 17 |
Fastest laps | 6 |
Finished last season | 6th (99 pts) |
Last updated on: 28 July 2025. | |
FIA World Endurance Championship career | |
Debut season | 2017 |
Current team | Peugeot TotalEnergies |
Racing licence | ![]() |
Car no. | 93 |
Former teams | Manor, TDS |
Starts | 30 |
Championships | 0 |
Wins | 0 |
Podiums | 3 |
Poles | 0 |
Fastest laps | 1 |
Best finish | 8th in 2023 (HY) |
Formula One World Championship career | |
Nationality | ![]() |
Active years | 2012–2014 |
Teams | Toro Rosso |
Car number | 25 |
Entries | 58 (58 starts) |
Championships | 0 |
Wins | 0 |
Podiums | 0 |
Career points | 51 |
Pole positions | 0 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
First entry | 2012 Australian Grand Prix |
Last entry | 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
Years | 2017–2020, 2023–2024 |
Teams | Manor, G-Drive, Peugeot |
Best finish | 7th (2017) |
Class wins | 0 |
Previous series | |
2010–2011 2010 2010 2008–2009 2008–2009 2007 |
Formula Renault 3.5 British F3 GP3 Series Formula Renault Eurocup Formula Renault WEC French FRenault Campus |
Championship titles | |
2010 2008 2007 |
British F3 French Formula Renault French FRenault Campus |
Jean-Éric Vergne, often called JEV, is a French racing driver. He was born on April 25, 1990, in Pontoise, France. He currently races in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot. He also competes in Formula E for DS Penske.
Vergne raced in Formula One from 2012 to 2014. He is famous for winning the Formula E Championship twice. He is the only driver to win it two times in a row. He won his first Formula E title in the 2017–18 season. He then won again in the 2018–19 season.
Contents
Early Racing Days
Jean-Éric Vergne started karting when he was just four years old. He raced at his dad's kart track near Paris. In 2001, he became the French champion in the "Minimes" category. Three years later, he was second in the French Rotax Max championship. In 2005, he finished second in the European Championship's ICA class. His best karting moment was in 2006. He finished seventh in the top KF1 World Championship.
Moving to Single-Seater Cars
In 2007, Vergne moved to single-seater racing. He joined the French Formula Renault Campus series. He won the championship easily on his first try. He finished on the podium in ten of thirteen races. After 2007, Vergne became part of the Red Bull Junior Team. He also joined the French Automobile Sport Federation (FFSA).
In 2008, Vergne raced in two championships for SG Formula. These were the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup. He finished sixth in the Eurocup standings. He earned a podium finish in the last race in Barcelona. In the West European Cup, he finished fourth overall. He earned three podium finishes there. He was the best new driver in both series. He also won the French Formula Renault 2.0 title. This title went to the best French driver in the West European Cup.
In 2009, Vergne stayed with SG Formula for both championships. He finished second in both the Eurocup and the WEC. He was behind Albert Costa from Spain.
Formula Three Success
In 2010, Vergne moved to the British Formula 3 Championship. He raced for the successful team Carlin. He won 12 races out of the first 24. This included winning all three races at Spa-Francamp. He won the championship with six races still to go. This was the third year in a row a Red Bull Junior Team driver won this title with Carlin.
Vergne also raced in two special Formula Three races. He finished fourth in the Masters of Formula 3 at Zandvoort. He finished seventh in the Macau Grand Prix. He was the highest finisher from the British series in both events.
Formula Renault 3.5 Series
In July 2010, Vergne joined Tech 1 Racing for the last three races of the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season. He finished 8th in the championship. He earned four podium finishes. His first win in the series was at Silverstone.
Vergne raced full-time in the series in 2011 for Carlin. He won the second race at Monza. He was first given a penalty, but his team appealed. The penalty was removed, and he got his win back. Going into the last race in Barcelona, Vergne was only two points behind his teammate Robert Wickens. Vergne had won five races, including two wins at the Hungaroring. In the final race, Vergne and Wickens crashed. Wickens had to stop racing. Vergne continued but was later taken out by another car. This meant Wickens won the title by just nine points.
Formula One Racing
Vergne first drove a Formula One car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July 2010. He drove a Red Bull RB5. In November, he tested for Toro Rosso. He drove their car for two days. He was fast, showing he could handle a Formula One car.
In August 2011, Vergne took part in some practice sessions for Toro Rosso. He drove in three of the last four race weekends. He was close to the speed of the main drivers. In November 2011, Vergne tested the championship-winning Red Bull RB7. He set the fastest lap time on all three days of the test.
Racing for Toro Rosso (2012–2014)
On December 14, 2011, it was announced that Vergne would race for Toro Rosso in the 2012 season. His teammate was Daniel Ricciardo.
2012 Season Highlights
Vergne scored his first Formula One points in the second race in Malaysia. He finished eighth in a rainy race. At the European Grand Prix, he had an accident with another car. He was given a penalty for causing the crash. He finished the season in 17th place with 16 points. He had four eighth-place finishes.
2013 Season Highlights
Vergne scored his first point of 2013 in Malaysia. He finished tenth. He then finished eighth in Monaco, matching his best result. He had his best qualifying result in Canada, starting seventh. He then finished sixth in the race, his best career finish. The rest of the season was tough for him. He finished 15th in the standings with 13 points.
2014 Season Highlights
In 2014, Vergne continued with Toro Rosso. His new teammate was 19-year-old Daniil Kvyat. Vergne started the first race in Australia in sixth place. He finished eighth after another driver was disqualified. In Malaysia, he had a bad start and crashed. He retired from the race. He also retired from the next race in Bahrain.
Vergne's luck did not improve in Europe. He had more technical problems and retirements. However, in Canada, he finished eighth. At the Singapore Grand Prix, Vergne had his best Formula One result. He finished sixth after a strong drive. He passed several cars in the last few laps. In Japan, he finished ninth despite starting 20th.
In August 2014, Red Bull announced that Max Verstappen would join Toro Rosso for 2015. This meant Vergne would not have a seat. However, when Sebastian Vettel left Red Bull, Kvyat moved up to Red Bull. This opened a possible spot for Vergne. But on November 26, 2014, Vergne announced he was leaving Toro Rosso. Carlos Sainz Jr took his place.
Test Driver for Ferrari (2015–2016)
In December 2014, Vergne joined Ferrari. He worked as a test and development driver. He mainly worked on their racing simulator. He left Ferrari in February 2017.
Formula E Racing
Andretti Autosport (2014–2015)
2014–15 Season
After leaving Formula One, Vergne joined the FIA Formula E Championship. He signed with Andretti Autosport. He made his first start in the third race in Uruguay. He immediately took the pole position. He finished second in Long Beach, earning his first podium. He finished third in the first race of the London ePrix. He ended the season in seventh place overall with 70 points.
DS Virgin Racing (2015–2016)
2015–16 Season
In August 2015, Vergne joined the DS Virgin Racing team. He raced alongside Sam Bird. He finished ninth in the championship that season.
Techeetah (2016–2022)
2016–17 Season
In July 2016, Vergne joined the new team Techeetah. He earned the team's first podiums and fastest lap awards. He also got their first win at the last race of the 2016–17 season in Montréal.
2017–18 Season: Champion!
Vergne continued with Techeetah for the 2017–18 season. He won his second Formula E race in Santiago. He then won his third in Punta del Este. Vergne won the championship with one race left in New York. He became the fourth different champion in four seasons.
2018–19 Season: Back-to-Back Champion!
For the 2018–19 season, Vergne stayed with Techeetah. He won three races: Sanya, Monaco, and Bern. He became champion for the second year in a row. This made him Formula E's first driver to win two championships in a row!
2019–20 Season
In the 2019–20 season, Vergne raced with António Félix da Costa. He earned his first podium in Marrakesh. He then got two more podiums in Berlin. He won his first race of the season in Berlin. He finished third in the championship standings.
2020–21 Season
Vergne stayed with DS Techeetah for the 2020-21 season. He won the first race in Rome. He finished second in New York on day one. He ended the season in 10th place with 80 points.
2021–22 Season
Vergne continued with DS Techeetah for his sixth season. He finished third in Mexico. He earned two pole positions in Rome and Jakarta. He finished second in both of those races. He also got two more podiums in Monaco and Berlin. He finished the season in 4th place with 144 points.
DS Penske (2023–Present)
2022–23 Season
In October 2022, Vergne joined the new DS Penske team. He raced with reigning champion Stoffel Vandoorne. After a slow start, Vergne bounced back. He won his first race of the season at the Hyderabad ePrix. He finished second in Cape Town. He ended the season in 5th place.
2023–24 Season
Vergne continued with DS Penske for the 2023–24 Formula E season. He finished 6th in the first race in Mexico. He became the second driver in history to score 1000 points in Formula E. After a 7th place finish at Misano, he broke the record for most points scored in Formula E. He also broke the record for most pole positions in Formula E. He finished the season in 5th place with 139 points.
2024–25 Season
Vergne is racing with DS Penske for the 2024–25 Formula E World Championship. His new teammate is Maximilian Günther. He has already earned two podium finishes this season.
World Endurance Championship
Vergne joined the Peugeot Sport factory team in 2022. He competes in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Before this, he raced in the LMP2 class for teams like CEFC Manor TRS Racing and G-Drive Racing. In 2023, he finished on the podium at the Monza race. In 2024, he finished third at the Bahrain race.
About Jean-Éric Vergne
In 2018, Vergne partnered with Veloce Esports. They later co-founded Veloce Racing, a racing team in Extreme E.
Vergne enjoys playing the piano. Besides his native French, he also speaks English, Spanish, and Italian. He is close friends with André Lotterer, who was his teammate from 2017 to 2019.
Career Summary
Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
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2007 | Formula Campus Renault | Formule Campus | 13 | 6 | 5 | ? | 10 | 189 | 1st |
2008 | Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 | SG Formula | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 58 | 6th |
Formula Renault 2.0 WEC | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 95 | 4th | ||
2009 | Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 | SG Formula | 14 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 128 | 2nd |
Formula Renault 2.0 WEC | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 143 | 2nd | ||
2010 | British Formula 3 International Series | Carlin | 30 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 20 | 392 | 1st |
Masters of Formula 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | N/A | 4th | ||
Macau Grand Prix | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 7th | ||
GP3 Series | Tech 1 Racing | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 17th | |
Formula Renault 3.5 Series | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 53 | 8th | ||
2011 | Formula Renault 3.5 Series | Carlin | 17 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 232 | 2nd |
Formula One | Scuderia Toro Rosso | Test driver | |||||||
2012 | Formula One | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 17th |
2013 | Formula One | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 15th |
2014 | Formula One | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 13th |
2014–15 | Formula E | Andretti Autosport | 9 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 70 | 7th |
2015 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari | Test driver | ||||||
2015–16 | Formula E | DS Virgin Racing | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 56 | 9th |
2016 | Formula One | Scuderia Ferrari | Test driver | ||||||
2016–17 | Formula E | Techeetah | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 117 | 5th |
2017 | FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 | CEFC Manor TRS Racing | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 81 | 10th |
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 6th | ||
24H Series - A6 | GP Extreme | ||||||||
2017–18 | Formula E | Techeetah | 12 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 198 | 1st |
2018 | European Le Mans Series - LMP2 | G-Drive Racing | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 88.25 | 2nd |
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | DSQ | ||
2018–19 | Formula E | DS Techeetah | 13 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 136 | 1st |
FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 | TDS Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 16th | |
2019 | European Le Mans Series - LMP2 | G-Drive Racing | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 63 | 5th |
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 6th | ||
2019–20 | Formula E | DS Techeetah | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 86 | 3rd |
2020 | European Le Mans Series - LMP2 | G-Drive Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 13th |
2020–21 | Formula E | DS Techeetah | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 80 | 10th |
2021 | European Le Mans Series - LMP2 | IDEC Sport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 30th | |
2021–22 | Formula E | DS Techeetah | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 144 | 4th |
2022 | FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar | Peugeot TotalEnergies | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 10th |
2022–23 | Formula E | DS Penske | 16 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 107 | 5th |
2023 | FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar | Peugeot TotalEnergies | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 51 | 8th |
24 Hours of Le Mans - Hypercar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 8th | ||
2023–24 | Formula E | DS Penske | 16 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 139 | 5th |
2024 | FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar | Peugeot TotalEnergies | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 41 | 13th |
2024–25 | Formula E | DS Penske | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 99 | 6th |
2025 | FIA World Endurance Championship - Hypercar | Peugeot TotalEnergies | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 23rd* |
* Season still in progress.