Jean-Eric Vergne's epic drive in the 2020 Marrakesh E-Prix is now a story of legend, after missing the first practice session due to illness the DS Techeetah man was on the backfoot. Qualifying down in 11th, the Frenchman put in a drive of his life and was rewarded with a podium finish which also moved him past a 600 all-time points milestone.
As highlighted by the excellent Formula E Stats on Twitter, after his podium finish in the 2020 Marrakesh E-Prix Vergne now has 608 career points to his name in the all-electric street racing series. The reigning Formula E Champion still sits in third in the all-time points table but closes the gap to Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler) and Sebastien Buemi (Nissan e.dams).
Vergne started his journey in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship during the inaugural 2014/15 season, making his debut appearance in the third round at Punta del Este in Uruguay.
The Frenchman immediately demonstrated his potential by sticking it on pole in his very first attempt. A wrecked suspension halted his efforts of securing a victory in his debut race, but he would get his first podium with a second-place finish in Long Beach. More point-scoring finishes and podiums followed in the next season.
The fruitful partnership between Vergne and Techeetah began in the 2016/17 season, and his first win with the newly formed outfit would come in the final round in Montreal - setting the scene for the season that followed.
Continuing in the black and gold Techeetah for 2018/19, consistency ruled supreme for Vergne, with the Frenchman scoring points in all 12 rounds of the season. On the way to his first title, Vergne had four wins and two podiums, with only one finish outside of top five with a 10th place finish still gaining him a point.
Last season saw a string of non-scores but this didn't hinder the Frenchman. After a series of victories and top-scoring finishes, he defended his crown and became the first back-to-back and two-time Formula E champion.
So far this season, it has been a subdued performance from the reigning champ. However, in the last two rounds, there has been a return to form for Vergne. In Mexico City, he got some solid points for his title defence and last time out in Marrakesh was the heroic podium finish after missing the first practice session due to an illness.
Vergne still has a way to go if he wants to top the all-time points list, he still trails the top two all-time points scorers with Di Grassi and Buemi at 757 and 726 points respectively.