Jaime Alguersuari's new life after F1

"I'm not going to lie, I don't feel I have a lot to show. I think I showed enough of what I could do in Formula 1."

Has motorsport missed Jaime Alguersuari since he was jettisoned from Formula 1 at the end of 2011? Probably not as much as it should've done. Any sympathy at the abrupt Toro Rosso slate-wiping that swapped Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi for Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne dissipated as the new recruits proved their worth.

And Alguersuari had been given 46 grands prix - which the likes of Tonio Liuzzi, Scott Speed and Sebastien Bourdais, the four-time Champ Car champion kicked out to make way for the young Spaniard, might consider generous.

That's the blunt interpretation of Alguersuari's career. But you could also make a case for him being the most unfairly disregarded of the jilted Red Bull proteges.

He still holds the record for being the youngest man to start a grand prix, aged just 19 years, four months and three days when he lined up on the Hungaroring grid in the ex-Bourdais Toro Rosso in July 2009. And he was one of the least well-prepared in history, without a single proper test under his belt when Red Bull promoted him.

The theory was that amid the then-new testing ban, he could do his learning in-field. Cue vocal scepticism from drivers, pundits and ex-champions, a reaction that perhaps coloured views of his F1 career.

If the timing of Alguersuari's F1 move was debatable, that he deserved a shot at the world championship at some stage was less contentious. His 2008 British Formula 3 title was earned with a last-gasp defeat of his Carlin team-mates, future Porsche LMP1 driver Brendon Hartley and McLaren F1 tester Oliver Turvey. And fourth and fifth in the points behind that trio were current F1 drivers Sergio Perez and Marcus Ericsson.

Aged 21 years and eight months when he made his last F1 appearance, Alguersuari doesn't quite have the record for F1's youngest exit, though aside from Esteban Tuero, every other driver who beats him on that unhappy list owes their stat to a tragic early death.

2011 was Spaniard's last F1 season © XPB

The manner of Alguersuari's departure from F1 clearly still stings - he recalls the date of the fateful phone call (December 16, 2011) without a moment's hesitation, and mitigating factors are listed with defensive urgency: "It was the second season of that car being built in Italy, the team was growing up and it's a very different team now.

"I scored more points than my team-mate. I did great races with the material we had. I knew what we could do with that car and I knew what they were asking for was not possible."

And yet you completely believe him when he adds "it's the past, I've moved forward" and dismisses any thought of Formula E being a route back to F1.

Yes, he feels F1 spurned him unfairly, it annoys him and he wants to defend his record. But he has a new life now, and the slightly evangelistic passion with which he speaks of Formula E underlines his belief in and commitment to it.

This is not an interview where opinions have to be cajoled out, his responses full of quick-fire bulletpoint streams of unique FE selling points ("Zero emissions... races in cities... tyres you can use on your road car... completely electric...") like a man ready to preach to doubters, though he admits he's a recent convert himself.

"If I have to tell you the truth, four months ago I didn't see this championship in the way I'm looking at it now. It can only grow. Motorsport needs to get green. Maybe this is the future of life.

"I don't know if it's too early or too late to make a change, but this is something huge."

F1's environmental conversion hasn't captured the public's imagination so far, as the vehement scorn for the sounds of its eco-ish 2014 engines underlines. Formula E will be quieter still, and also breaks convention with its all-street calendar, all-weather tyres and mid-race car swaps.

But F1 2014's bad reception hasn't given Alguersuari any worries about how FE will be perceived, as he's sure its lack of baggage means it will get a fair hearing.

"When we talk about Formula E, we need to understand that there is no aim of comparing to Formula 1. F1 is another world; a different planet. That's why comparisons could be misunderstood.

"I'm so excited to be part of Formula E because it's new. We all know Formula 1 and so many of its positive and negative aspects. Here we have a new championship. No one knows anything.

"It has huge potential to convince huge audiences all over the world as just racing in cities will help to get everyone to understand the idea of zero emissions and electric racing."

Alguersuari feels he has nothing to prove

An unconventional racing series will benefit from an unconventional ambassador, and Alguersuari has never been conformist, as his sideline DJ career under the pseudonym Squire hinted in his F1 days.

He took an unusual approach to his post-F1 career too. The only thing he has raced in what will be an almost three-year gap since his last grand prix is a kart, with the rest of his motorsport mileage coming from Pirelli tyre testing.

Racing anything anywhere just for the sake of it wasn't on his agenda, which is why he says he was very picky about his choice of Formula E team too, committing to Virgin because of its pedigree for innovation across multiple industries.

"For sure it's important to be active and important to race, but not at any cost. That's why for two years I was just testing with Pirelli.

"There was something going on, especially in Formula 1, but I didn't have the budget to get some deals done and therefore I couldn't get the drive. But I had huge experience with developing the tyres and I'm very proud of that.

"I've learned a lot and kept myself active. I didn't race, but testing kept me alive.

"I turned down other things in GTs and other series because of external factors. I was the first one who wanted to go racing; but big opportunities like this are very few in professional racing."

He shrugs off any suggestion that such a long lay-off will leave him rusty, insisting that with Formula E so different, recent seat time won't be as valuable as the bedrock of top-level knowledge he has from F1.

His career twists have left Alguersuari accustomed to the unexpected - which is ideal with so many unknowns in Formula E - and extremely determined. The Virgin FE seat has ignited his passion in a way it's doubtful a return in an established series would have done.

He's been Jaime Alguersuari the F1 aspirant, the Red Bull protege and the F1 reject. Now all that matters is being Jaime Alguersuari Formula E champion, and he's convinced he's psychologically ready to achieve that.

"I never knew I was going into Formula 1 and I never knew I was about to go out of Formula 1 when they called me on December 16. I guess this is life. It works like that. You have to be prepared for each day and to understand both a good opportunity and very bad news.

"I grew up as a person because I think you always learn from every situation. It was a good way to [become] how I am as a person in all areas, not just as a driver.

"I don't feel like I'm an old man and I think I've learned a lot in my career. I'm ready to take part in this championship. I'm here to win because I won other championships in my past career. I really need this. I really want this."