Official: Jean-Eric Vergne test driver for Scuderia Ferrari
Jean-Eric Vergne will continue to keep a foot in Formula 1 in 2015, as the Frenchman has been hired by Scuderia Ferrari as a test driver.
Not retained by Toro Rosso for the 2015 season, Jean-Eric Vergne has found another team to bounce back with. The Frenchman has indeed been recruited by Scuderia Ferrari as a test driver. He will thus join Marc Gené and Davide Rigon, who hold the same role as him.
The announcement, which comes four days after the recruitment of Esteban Gutierrez as a reserve driver, marks a renewal within the team of the Prancing Horse brand, which aims to surround itself with drivers who have experience in current F1.
The new director of the Maranello team, Maurizio Arrivabene, welcomed the arrival of the Frenchman on the team’s site: « On behalf of the entire team, I welcome Jean-Eric, who I am sure will make an important contribution to our development work in the simulator. He joins a program aimed at improving key areas, invigorating and strengthening an already highly competent group of professionals. »
Vergne, for his part, was obviously delighted to join such an important Formula 1 team as Scuderia Ferrari: “I feel very honored to join the Ferrari family and become a member of the most prestigious team in the history of Formula 1. The objective is to help the team get back on the top step of the podium. Having spent two years in the simulator of a top F1 team and three years racing for Toro Rosso, my experience will add to all the efforts currently being made to make the team win again. I look forward to realizing my dream of becoming a member of the Ferrari Formula 1 team and being supported by the Tifosi.”
Pedro de la Rosa, who was also one of the test drivers for the Italian team, was not retained.
