I must admit. If there is one thing that really makes me look forward to Formula E next season, it's that two outstanding drivers, both of them Formula E champions, are joining forces as teammates at DS Penske.
The Penske team, formerly known as Dragon, are teaming up with DS who recently parted ways with Techeetah. And, last month confirmed that both Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne would be driving for the team, in what will be the ninth season for the racing series and the first for the new Gen3 car. Surely, this will be one of, if not, the strongest driver pairings on the grid? It's all so exciting!
Jean-Eric Vergne, better known as JEV, has been racing in Formula E since its inaugural season in 2014. He won the championship in both the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 seasons. The Frenchman is the only driver to win the Formula E crown more than once, thus making him the most successful in terms of championships.
Stoffel Vandoorne, the reigning Formula E champion, won his first championship in the series in Season 8 (2021/2022). He's been racing in Formula E since 2018.
Of course, with the prospect of having two champions in a team with three championships between them, there will be an exciting feel to it and a lot of eyes will be focused towards them. But why am I looking forward to this line up as much as I am?
Well, in short, they're both bloody excellent race drivers.
Most racing fans probably know Vergne and Vandoorne from their stints in Formula One. However, neither driver had an F1 career to shout about. Vergne was with Toro Rosso and was looked over for a seat at Red Bull in his later F1 career. And, although he consistently matched his team mates, his best finish in the Driver's Championship was 13th in 2014 and he was eventually dropped in favour of then 17 year old Max Verstappen, who now happens to be a double Formula One World Champion.
Then there's Vandoorne. He raced for McLaren alongside the highly experienced Fernando Alonso during the team's recent Honda era. Vandoorne's best finish was in 2018 where he finished 16th.
For Vergne and Vandoorne, a lot of their bad luck in Formula One was just that, bad luck. Their careers in that championship, sadly, just didn't work out. But surely they must have achieved something in their junior careers to even get to F1, right? Right.
Vergne, once a member of the Red Bull Junior Team, has a handful of first and second finishes in junior championships under his belt, including a championship win in British Formula 3 International Series in 2010. Vandoorne, who was a junior with McLaren, also performed well in his junior career, winning the GP2 Series in 2015 and also fighting an almighty battle with Kevin Magnussen in 2013 in Formula Renault 3.5. Vandoorne ultimately finished that season in 2nd, behind Magnussen. Neither have gotten to where they are today by coincidence. They have experience and they have talent.
This driver line up, in particular, has been described as an "all-star" line up and it's not surprising with what they've achieved in Formula E thus far with their three championships between them - the most out of any team. Many an ex-F1 driver has made the switch to Formula E, but it hasn't always worked out. For Vergne and Vandoorne, the transition between Formula One and Formula E has been a dream and has shown a proper representation of what these guys can do.
But we have to remember, this upcoming season introduces the third generation of the Formula E car. There will be a lot to learn for both drivers. Plus, they're both joining a new team and are working alongside each other for the first time. There's a lot of firsts for season nine but that adds to the excitement. Also, we can't forget their competitors. There's a lot of talent in Formula E.
Despite that, I really do believe this to be the strongest and most exciting line up in season nine or even in Formula E history. Maybe I'm a tad biased, they're my favourite FE drivers after all but, after watching both drivers race in numerous categories, I know they're going to push each other to the absolute limit. It's going to be a good one guys!
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