Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne will drive for the new Techeetah team for season three of Formula E.
The move was confirmed after sports marketing company SECA announced that they had bought over Team Aguri, and would be entering the team under the Techeetah name.
It means Vergne will be driving for his third team in as many seasons in the series, having previously raced for Andretti and DS Virgin Racing.
While he ended the season strongly at DS Virgin, it wasn’t a smooth year on the whole. There were issues after he declared himself fit to race in Buenos Aires, despite the team believing otherwise.
A race long battle with his teammate Sam Bird at the Paris ePrix also resulted in both drivers criticising each other publicly after the race following some robust defensive driving.
In terms of the championship Vergne finished well down on Bird, and had only managed to score six points before the Paris event.
Speaking after the announcement of their takeover of the team, Sheng Li, founder and CEO of SECA said, “Formula E represents a global vision for the future of the motorsport industry. Formula E offers a rare global sports opportunity with its unique positioning around the Environment, Energy and Entertainment.”
“Racing in Formula E opens up marketing, and fan engagement possibilities for global and Chinese brands. Techeetah Formula E Team is a global team with unique access to Chinese and European fans through our two star drivers next year.”
Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag voiced his support of the move saying, “Formula E is very happy to welcome the new Team Techeetah, backed by SECA, to our Championship.”
“China is one of the big priorities of this Championship. Our first race ever took place in Beijing, and the country is doing great efforts towards electrification of mobility. We will work together with SECA and our Chinese partners to expand Formula E in China, and reach out to millions of potential new fans.”
Vergne will be joined at Techeetah by Ma Qing Hua next season, who started driving for Team Aguri in Paris after rumours of the takeover deal first surfaced.
