Former Toro Rosso driver Jean-Eric Vergne is racing for Andretti Autosport in the Punta del Este ePrix this weekend, the announcement coming just days before Saturday’s race. He replaces Matty Brabham, who drove for the team in the last race at Putrajaya.
Vergne said of the opportunity: “Although I have no experience in this new series, I am excited about the prospect of racing in Formula E, and racing for such a prestigious team as Andretti. As always, the main objective of the weekend is to stay out front and finish the year on a high note. The weekend will be a little like a journey into the unknown, but it is a journey that I am thoroughly looking forward to!”
Journey into the unknown or not, Vergne will be among familiar company; more than half of the Formula E grid, including Vergne’s teammate Franck Montagny, has at least some F1 experience, even if just through testing (though China Racing’s Ho-Pin Tung has also been replaced by GT driver Antonio Garcia for this weekend). Like all of them, Vergne is now unfortunately looking for work outside of F1 since Red Bull overlooked him twice for promotion from Toro Rosso to the parent team. Though the signs are that this deal is temporary, considering he’s racing with Andretti, could that mean he eventually moves to Indycar? We’ll see.
