Jean-Eric Vergne enters into partnership with Veloce eSports team
Formula E championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne has revealed that he has entered into a partnership with the Veloce eSports team
Ex-Formula 1 driver Vergne has taken a financial stake in Veloce, a driver management agency that has recently expanded into eSports, singing champions of the virtual world from all three major gaming platforms.
Vergne was convinced by his former British Formula 3 team-mate Rupert Svendsen-Cook, who serves as the Veloce eSports director, to join the team.
"Rupert and I became really good friends during the British F3 season, it was my first year living in England and he was the driver I got closest to during that season," Vergne told Autosport.
"He went to the business side early on. He's always been good at selling things.
"One time there were these wristbands that he was selling to the whole paddock and he was making more money from selling the wristbands than from the sponsors on his cars. This guy is made for business.
"We met recently, and I was really impressed with the level of quality of the people working with him and of the simulators.
"I have something to bring to his company and I believe we can do brilliant things together. It's a perfect match."
Veloce's ultimate aim is to have space for its drivers to live as well as to practice and compete, and to not only compete on racing games but potentially expand to some of the most popular eSports games such as Fortnite and Call of Duty.
Vergne believes embracing eSports is the key to drawing a larger and younger audience to motorsport such as Formula E.
"There a lot more people that watch eSports events than real life F1 or Formula E races," Vergne added.
"With all this audience, if we can push them towards watching the real race, and see what's really happening, motorsport is going to grow.
"I'm pretty sure that in the next few years, we are going to see a ghost car, in the real-life races, that is going to be played by millions of players.
"The actual race will be watched by millions of people that are going to be watching the race from their gaming console. They have the technology to make that happen.
"With virtual reality, you have the data of absolutely everything on an F1 car. You have everything that is necessary to replicate it in a game.
"That's why the data rights will be more important than the TV rights in the future."
DiRT world championships: Oscaro gets revenge on Fernando Alonso's team
F1 eSports 2018: First qualifiers for Pro Draft line-up set
The two F1 rules problems Perez’s recent mishaps expose
The two F1 rules problems Perez’s recent mishaps expose The two F1 rules problems Perez’s recent mishaps expose
10 things we learned at the 2023 F1 Japanese Grand Prix
10 things we learned at the 2023 F1 Japanese Grand Prix 10 things we learned at the 2023 F1 Japanese Grand Prix
Japanese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023
Japanese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023 Japanese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023
How the gender performance gap is hindering womens’ progress in motorsport
How the gender performance gap is hindering womens’ progress in motorsport How the gender performance gap is hindering womens’ progress in motorsport
Why Aston Martin is right to return to Le Mans
Why Aston Martin is right to return to Le Mans Why Aston Martin is right to return to Le Mans
Aston Martin GT commitment unchanged by Valkyrie LMH announcement
Aston Martin GT commitment unchanged by Valkyrie LMH announcement Aston Martin GT commitment unchanged by Valkyrie LMH announcement
Aston Martin to return to Le Mans 24 Hours in 2025 with Valkyrie LMH
Aston Martin to return to Le Mans 24 Hours in 2025 with Valkyrie LMH Aston Martin to return to Le Mans 24 Hours in 2025 with Valkyrie LMH
Analysis: How an unlikely tie-up won sim racing's biggest race
Analysis: How an unlikely tie-up won sim racing's biggest race Analysis: How an unlikely tie-up won sim racing's biggest race
How poor driving standards ruined IndyCar's golden opportunity
How poor driving standards ruined IndyCar's golden opportunity How poor driving standards ruined IndyCar's golden opportunity
Why Leclerc's Virtual GP annihilation deserves great credit
Why Leclerc's Virtual GP annihilation deserves great credit Why Leclerc's Virtual GP annihilation deserves great credit
How the hidden side of being fast has been exposed
How the hidden side of being fast has been exposed How the hidden side of being fast has been exposed
Why F1’s pantomime Virtual GP is fun but unsustainable
Why F1’s pantomime Virtual GP is fun but unsustainable Why F1’s pantomime Virtual GP is fun but unsustainable
The latest Red Bull exile to return in Esports
The latest Red Bull exile to return in Esports The latest Red Bull exile to return in Esports
Mercedes can be toppled in F1's other title race
Mercedes can be toppled in F1's other title race Mercedes can be toppled in F1's other title race
Why World's Fastest Gamer is returning to real-world racing
Why World's Fastest Gamer is returning to real-world racing Why World's Fastest Gamer is returning to real-world racing
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.