PARIS - Jean-Eric Vergne believes that his charge to second place in Saturday’s Paris ePrix marks a turning point in his Formula E season after a tough start to the year.
Vergne recorded just one top 10 finish in the opening six races of the year, leaving him 65 points behind DS Virgin Racing teammate Sam Bird in the drivers’ championship.
The Frenchman scored his best result of the season in qualifying earlier in the day, finishing third before jumping ahead of Bird on the charge down to the first corner to sit second.
Vergne held off the Briton throughout the race to cross the line second, marking his first podium finish since the London ePrix at the end of season one, much to his relief.
“It’s really important for many reasons,” Vergne told NBC Sports after the race.
“First of all, a podium in France is something pretty amazing, especially in Paris.
“And then it’s important for me also because it points out the turning point of the season where I had a lot of negative things.
“I worked a lot on myself to get things towards me, and it worked out pretty well this weekend. Now I intend to keep the same spirit for the rest of the season.”
DS Virgin Racing team principal Alex Tai also said that the result would have a positive psychological on Vergne, coming good on the pace he showed throughout his first year in Formula E.
“It’s massive. He deserves it,” Tai told NBC Sports.
“He knows he’s got that latent experience and capability. What we need to do is keep that consistency there.”