In an interview with Racer magazine today, Jean-Eric Vergne is considering a future in America’s IndyCar series after having been dropped by Toro Rosso, for 2015.
Although just 24 years old, the Frenchman’s Formula 1 career looks to be over after Toro Rosso opted not to re-sign him for fourth season.
In his interview with Racer magazine today, Vergne has revealed he’s looking to America and the IndyCar series to continue his racing career. Vergne stated the following:-
‘I would be really interest in racing in America in IndyCar; I think it’s a great championship. I’m working with a manager who works with a few drivers in America, Julian Jakobi, and at the moment, it seems like it is quite hard to go to a top team right away, but I am very interested to see what type of seats are available.’
From what Vergne has stated in his interview today, it is clear that his intentions to remain in Formula One could be sidelined if he gets a chance to gain a seat in the IndyCar championship. With the help of Jakobi who is well known in motorsport as the great Ayrton Senna’s manager, Vergne might be able to secure a drive where with his help and seems open to the possibility of competing there if a deal can be found.
As Vergne points out himself, staying in Formula One long term with the Toro Rosso team is out of the question and he understands this fully. Even though Ricciardo is thriving after leaving the team in his first season at Red Bull, Vergne believes that he could do the same with another opportunity.
Even though I do feel sorry for the way Vergne has left Toro Rosso, I do understand why he was not retained by the team and also understand if he held any resentment towards the team. But even though Vergne does have limited options in Formula One at the moment, anything can happen and he needs to make sure that he has a back-up plan in place in case this doesn’t work out for him.
And that is exactly what he is doing right now with looking at IndyCar which would provide him with the best chance of a competitive drive in the next stage of his career and could lead to other opportunities if he performs as well as he expects and wants to if he gets a drive in the series.
But in order to do that, Vergne will first have to master the skill of racing on ovals as IndyCar uses those layouts as well as road and street tracks. Vergne said the following on the subject at hand:-
‘I don’t pretend I would win everything, or have an easy time on the ovals; it’s a lot to learn coming from Europe, but many European drivers have become quite good on ovals with some experience, and with so many road courses and street races, I know I can be very effective.
‘There aren’t so many teams to go to that I can win a championship right away, but this doesn’t stop me from looking and talking to team owners to see if we can do something together
‘I have always loved racing in America, and I have always been very interested in IndyCar. The timing is very good right now to make this happen.’
Vergne is being realistic about how he would perform in the IndyCar series if a deal can be found. The experience he has gained during his career so far will help him adapt to the challenges that the series would present him especially on oval circuits. With Vergne expressing an interest in the IndyCar series and talking to team owners to see if a deal can be achieved, Vergne also understands that there aren’t many teams just like in Formula One who could offer him the best competitive drive that would allow him to win races and championships and this won’t stop him from chasing this option either.
But overall, even though Vergne would love to remain in Formula One, he now has to start looking at other options available to him such as IndyCar that may offer him an opportunity to show that he can win races and championships. Vergne is more than talented enough to be in IndyCar if a deal can be done and it is clear for all to see that Vergne believes that the time could be right for him to switch to the series. And I really hope if he cannot stay in F1, he gets the chance to drive for a competitive team in IndyCar and show why he was signed to Toro Rosso in the first place.
