Vergne: New Formula E tyres 'like concrete', renews calls for slicks

Two-time Formula E champion Vergne, who will make his 100th race start in the category this weekend at the Diriyah round, has been a frequent critic of the all-weather tyre construction used in the electric championship.

Hankook took over from Michelin for the Gen3 era of Formula E, and has produced a harder tyre which has proven tricky for the teams' tyre engineers to find the sweet spot of performance in.

Vergne reckoned that the construction of the tyres would be tricky for the drivers to deal with throughout the season, and suggested that a switch to slicks in the future would be better for the drivers to follow each other.

Asked by Autosport if he felt that he would get used to the new tyres, the DS Penske driver replied: "Oh, never.

"I mean, it's the car we have, it's the tyres we have, we know it's not going to change in the season. So we have to deal with that.

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"But I think it's going to be tricky races, for sure.

"I would want slick tyres with a 70% increase of grip. I mean, the tyres are hard, like concrete - and it's so slippery. And it's even more in the race because when you follow, you lose the downforce."

Reflecting on his Mexico race, Vergne added that the lack of "confidence" in the car meant that it was difficult for drivers to commit to making overtakes.

After a strong showing in FP1 where he topped the session, the Frenchman said that performance fell away throughout the weekend as the feeling of the car shifted away.

Jean-Eric Vergne, DS Penske, DS E-Tense FE23, Sergio Sette Camara, NIO 333 FE Team, NIO 333 ER9, Nick Cassidy, Envision Racing, Jaguar I-TYPE 6

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

"It's very tricky. I mean, it was tricky from FP1 to FP2, and then the car felt completely different in quali again. The guys that were quick in quali were the guys that were not so quick in free practice.

"It's sort of a bit weird to try and understand, you know, how everything happens.

"And then in the race it was a bit of a... it's impossible to overtake regardless of how much more energy you have because the amount of grip is so little that there is no way you can attempt a late overtaking, or late breaking because you know you're not going to make it.

"We've seen many crashes just because the level of confidence in the car is extremely low and it's difficult to overtake."