Jean-Eric Vergne career took a turn in his career in 2014: he was a test driver for one of the great constructors of Formula 1, Ferrari, sharing in the Italian team with the four-time champion of the category, Sebastian Vettel.
Vergne recalls that in the year Formula E was born, he informed his teammate that he would also be a driver in the electric competition and that the German “laughed” in his face.
“He laughed a bit in my face when I went to Formula E. He said, ‘What are those lawnmowers’,” The Frenchman told the Motorsport.com portal.
It should be noted that when Formula E began in the 2014-15 season, the series was being ridiculed as many believed that motorsport and electricity could not go hand in hand. Today, many things and opinions have changed.
Formula E has now received world championship classification, just like Formula 1, the World Rally Championship or the Endurance World Championship (FIA WEC) and even the German driver, Sebastian Vettel has shown that he now cares more about the environment.
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“Then it didn’t take long before he started saying that Formula E was also the future, that it was good, that F1 wasn’t doing enough with electric mobility and that Formula 1 should do more,” says Vergne adding that all the People’s opinions can change over time.
The German driver currently collects rubbish he finds in the forest, has installed a photovoltaic system in his car, firmly believes that more needs to be talked about climate change in schools and has even shown interest in practicing an organic farm that takes place in your own garden.
Vettel is not the only one
Being the face of motorsport in recent years surpassing and equaling brands, Lewis Hamilton has not yet moved to zero emissions vehicles completely, however he has hinted that this will be his future.
“Recently I’ve been making many changes in my life to reduce my impact on the environment. I have offset my carbon footprint from my Formula 1 career dating back to 2007, I have reduced travel where possible, I have gone plant-based and outside of the track, I try to use electric cars wherever possible,” says the Briton in an Instagram post from a couple of years ago.
Written by | Gabriel Sayago
