In an interview with the media today, Toro Rosso driver Jean-Eric Vergne reckons he demonstrated what he can do in Singapore when he claimed sixth place despite two penalties.
Vergne has been left without a drive for next year’s Championship after Toro Rosso opted to replace him with teenager Max Verstappen. He is now without a shadow of a doubt racing for his career and around the streets of Marina Bay last Sunday, Vergne’s ability was in the shop window as he brought his STR home in sixth place – and despite incurring two five-second time penalties.
In his interview with the media today, Vergne stated the following about his performance in Singapore last weekend:-
‘I am extremely happy, especially the way we took sixth place with the two penalties – amazing. Ten seconds is a lot in the race – I really had to go and take those positions in the last laps and pull away as much as possible. Having to overtake so many cars was a lot of fun. To finish sixth was incredible.
‘When you have a good car, that’s when you need to show yourself, and that’s hopefully what I have done. I think I showed my potential – I did everything I could. Let’s see if it might change things.’
Vergne quite rightly should be happy with the performance he achieved in Singapore and the fact that despite two penalties, he managed to achieve sixth is fantastic. He really did show that if he has the car underneath him, he can deliver and deliver well and also show that he can overtake just as well as any other driver too.
It is clear that his performance in Singapore as made a few pundits and fans stand up and realise that Vergne still has the potential to be in Formula One. And this is why he was signed for Toro Rosso in the first place and has lasted for the three years he has been with them. Vergne’s performance at Singapore was exactly what he needed to do and this might help him be considered or even secure a seat for next year.
Vergne who last year lost out to Daniel Ricciardo in the race for a Red Bull seat, feels his showing on Sunday proved that he can match the Aussie. Vergne added the following further in his interview today on the subject:-
‘When you see what Daniel is doing in a good car, winning races – I can do the same. When you are motivated and really want a result, that is what you do – I have shown this in the past, but when you overtake for 13th position they don’t put it on TV.
‘That’s what I do at the back of the grid; when I have a good car like [on Sunday in Singapore] that’s what I do. But I need a good car to show myself, and to have people trust in me.
‘I cross my fingers to keep a seat next year, and in a good team; I really hope so. We have an update for Japan, so I think it is good for me – the end of the season is where I need to push for next year.’
As Vergne states in his interview today, it is clear that his motivation to succeed in the sport is still there for all to see. As he points out, you may not see much of him during a race if he is further down the field, but that passion and desire to get the best result possible hasn’t left him. But Sunday, he reminded everyone that that aspect is still there and Vergne clearly showed this to get sixth place in Singapore.
As he rightly points out, in order to get the best result possible, you need a good car and key people around you who believe in you. And you could argue that Vergne has the key people around him currently at Toro Rosso but may not have the car. And Vergne has had more than his fair share of bad luck this year with reliability issues that haven’t been his fault and he has lost out on his seat as a result of that, but many people including myself have felt that this would be the case.
But Vergne for me has summed it up nicely. All he can do for the remainder of the season is ensure that he builds on what he has achieved in Singapore and keep racing for the best result possible in order to stay in the sport for next year. Singapore has reminded us all that Vergne is talented enough to be in Formula One but he needs to keep his run of form up in order to show all available teams with drives next season that he is the best candidate to fill their remaining seat or seats.
With Vergne announcing that Toro Rosso have an upgrade coming to Suzuka in two weeks time, it is imperative that Vergne makes the most of this and extracts as much pace and performance from it as he can and he must if he wants to show that he deserves a seat next season.
This has to be Vergne’s time to show just why he was signed to Toro Rosso in the first place and has to give it everything he has in order keep himself in the running for a race seat next year. As I feel that this could be his last chance to show just what he is made of and Vergne simply has got to deliver before it is too late before he is shown the door and is out of Formula One. And I really hope that does happen to Vergne, but wouldn’t be surprised if it happened either.
