Vergne: F1, “I believed in it”

After Charles Pic and Roman Grosjean, Jean-Eric Vergne is the third Frenchman to start for the 2012 season. The Formula vice-champion Renault 3.5 Series will find Daniel Ricciardo in Toro Rosso, the two pilots from the program Red Bull having experienced a journey that could not be more similar. If the announcement was a real surprise in the world of F1, the Frenchman admits in this week's issue of AUTOhebdo that he hoped to be promoted to the starting position.

" Surprised ? Yes, but I believed it. Red Bull's policy is to develop young drivers. I think Sébastien and Jaime did a great job, but were no longer part of this promotion policy. Based on that, deep down, I was hoping to get there... Even if Helmut Marko is a harsh person towards his pilots, I always told myself that if I were in his place, I would be exactly the same... I? I always knew that if I wasn't good, I wouldn't continue..."

Discover the entire interview with Jean-Eric Vergne in the new issue of AUTOhebdo, available on newsstands today.