The Frenchman broke a nearly two-year victory drought in Formula E when he held off Nick Cassidy in Hyderabad, and took the first win of DS’s alliance with the Dragon Penske outfit.
This came despite a four-percent energy deficit to the Kiwi, who was unable to mount a pass on Vergne in the dying stages as the Parisian put in a sterling defensive drive.
Asked if it felt good knowing that he had a car that has proven itself as a race winner, Vergne responded in the negative – and suggested that DS Penske hadn’t had the performance over the weekend to actually contend for victory.
“I wouldn’t say it’s special at all because I don’t think we had the performance to actually win that race in India,” Vergne said.
“It was a really tough race to win. I still don’t think we have the pure pace to win the races – we certainly have made a good step forward in terms of performance and understanding from the first two races to India. And I hope we’ve made a real improvement from India too.
“But to come here and say ‘we’re in the position that we can win’, I think it’s completely unrealistic. I think it’s important to set ourselves some realistic goals.
“The realistic one to me is that I want to leave this weekend knowing that we’ve done everything that we expected, get the best from the car, and that I’ve done a good job.”
Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Penske, DS E-Tense FE23
Photo by: DPPI
Vergne explained that his lack of experience with the DS machinery meant that it was difficult to gauge where the team currently lies in the performance stakes against the other teams.
The two-time champion added that he does not have any clear expectations from the first Formula E race in Cape Town, which is characterised by its plethora of high-speed corners and long, sweeping sections of track.
“If the car is good enough, then I hope we can fight for the win. I still don’t have enough expectance with the car to know. This track is very high speed, and I have no idea if it’s gonna fit our car or not.
“I honestly don’t know, because the only high-speed corner we have is Valencia’s Turn 1, but it was quite straightforward. So I come in with little expectation, just high expectation on our side actually to maximise what we have and working very hard.
“It’s not really [a circuit that requires bravery]. In a way, yes, but when you do something brave, it’s something that you’re not used to.
“If you get everything under control, I wouldn’t call it brave anymore. But I don’t know what to expect.
“Maybe after the first practice session, I’ll be very terrified! Maybe it’s going to be okay.”