Kimi Raikkonen’s poor form at Ferrari for the past two seasons has prompted speculation that his time at the Maranello outfit is over, as well as his career. Naturally, with silly season approaching speculation on replacements has been high – with Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, Nico Hulkenberg and even Nico Rosberg all being mentioned as possible replacements.
I want to through another name into the mix from inside the Ferrari team – Jean-Eric Vergne.
Vergne scored 51 points in his F1 career
The 25 year old Frenchman lost the race to replace Mark Webber at Red Bull for last season, and his three years at Toro Rosso saw him moved on. Ferrari hired him as a simulator driver, in addition to his driving duties for Andretti Autosport in the FIA Formula E Championship.
Despite joining the series at race 3, Vergne finished a respectable 7th place in the drivers’ championship, picking up one fastest lap, two podiums and three pole positions along the way – narrowly missing out on several wins too.
Looking back on his time in Formula 1, the Frenchman actually finished ahead of eventual Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo in their first seaon as team mates – scoring 16 points and finishing 17th compared to Ricciardo’s 10 points and 18th place finish.
Sure, Ricciardo out scored and out placed Vergne the following season, but not by much – the Frenchman was only 7 points and one place behind the Australian.
I don’t want to bore you with statistics, but Jean Eric quite significantly beat Daniil Kvyat in 2014, but it was the Russian that replaced Vettel.
Vergne’s pace is their for all to see, and he has demonstrated his race craft time and time again in his three years in the sport. Ricciardo has proven himself as a race winner, surely the pace matching Vergne deserves a chance to do the same?
So come on Ferrari, don’t miss your man! Jean-Eric Vergne should not become another forgotten name in Formula One. Promote from within and give one of the most unlucky drivers the chance he deserves!
Images courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari
