JEV: 'I couldn't be more proud of the team, we never give up'

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JEV: 'I couldn't be more proud of the team, we never give up'

Jean-Eric Vergne kickstarted his and DS PENSKE's GEN3 era with the race win and silverware at last in Hyderabad with a vintage defensive drive.

Jean-Eric Vergne celebrates his victory in the Formula E Hyderabad E-Prix for DS PENSKE in India

The early-season favourites of many had so far struggled with just seven points to their name after three rounds of 2022/23. Vergne helped fired the team to 36 come the chequered flag on Formula E's first visit to India. 

That win was his first since he came, saw and conquered in Rome, Season 7, and sees him third in the Drivers' standings.

Vergne started second and made his way to the front of the field on Lap 15, with the double champion sweeping by Sebastien Buemi (Envision Racing) a couple of laps after the Jaguars wiped themselves out of contention.

Vergne led from there but was forced into pulling every trick the defensive driving book and drawing on all his experience to fight off the sister Envision of Nick Cassidy. The Kiwi had some four percent more usable energy over the DS driver heading into the final couple of laps. Vergne had to make his car super wide and ended up crossing the line just as his car his 0.0% energy - perfectly timed, with Cassidy and Envision maybe leaving it a little late, with too much energy in-hand to make it count.

"I'm so happy for the team, said Vergne. "It’s been a very difficult three races and I couldn't be more proud of my team because we never gave up. We keep pushing and it doesn't matter the result - I am very proud of all my guys.

"We have a good car, maybe not the best at the moment but we are going to keep on working very hard to be the best and come back in the championship. That is what we do, we never give up."

With two more new tracks to come in Cape Town and Sao Paulo, Vergne is hoping to make his feel for a race track count in the same way things seemed to click for the 32-year-old in Hyderabad.

"It was a tough race. I had to defend quite hard in the end, but somehow we managed to win it. It was a clean race with no mistakes. 

"I like new tracks. It is cool, especially this one. It is a lot of fun, and I guess when there are still a lot of little secrets to find on the track, I find them quickly enough."

Vandoorne matches Vergne for pace, but not points

The Frenchman's pace was strong, and so was that of reigning champion Stoffel Vandoorne. The Belgian was able to climb through the order from 17th to sixth, only for a five-second time penalty to push him to an eventual eighth.

"We can speak of a good comeback from 17th but we need to continue our progress because we lack consistency," said Vandoorne. "Sometimes we're completely on it, sometimes not so much.

"We have to focus on our qualifying and practice performance because it would make our lives a lot easier if we were higher up the starting grid. In the race, we've shown we have good rhythm and energy management since the start of the season so far. If the car is performing well, it's difficult to aim for the podium starting so far back.

"In any case, it was a good day for the team with the victory for JEV. After a complicated start to the season, it's what those who work so hard behind the scenes deserve. We've taken important points but there's no question of relaxing our efforts!"