Vergne Surprised By Hartley's Call Up

Ex-Formula 1 driver Jean-Eric Vergne admits he’s shocked by Red Bull’s decision to sign Brendon Hartley for his former Toro Rosso team.

Red Bull dismissed Hartley from their programme in 2010, but an impressive Endurance racing career with Porsche has enabled a second chance.

The Formula E championship leader Vergne said: “It makes me laugh that Red Bull called on Hartley.

“Given that he’s the one they fired to give me his seat in World Series by Renault, I find this rather amusing.”

Max Verstappen took over from Vergne at Toro Rosso and he suggests that he regrets his actions.

“Looking back, I could have done things differently. I went through a hard 12 months, looking at how I could turn things around.

“I changed a lot of things in the way I approach the sport. I was able to learn from everything that happened.

“Today I don’t believe that I can be hurt in Formula E the way I was hurt in F1.

“Outside the car, I can now see everything with a different eye. As a global driver that’s much better.”

Hartley finished 15th in last weekends Australian Grand Prix.