Name one track you dreamed of driving when you were young.
“Monaco would be up there, obviously, and there’s one other track that I’ve always enjoyed in every class, and that’s Spa. I was really looking forward to coming and driving here in F1 and everything they say is true: it was absolutely fantastic. Suzuka is a terrific circuit too.”

A driver you dreamed of beating.
“No one in particular, though it was great to drive with Michael [Schumacher], as I used to watch him win when I was younger. It was amazing to be right beside him on my first start grid in Melbourne. It was a lovely sight for me. Even though I didn’t get to know him that well, it was still pretty nice.”

A job you dreamed of doing when you were young.
“This one.”

And what did your parents dream of you doing?
“Their dream was for me to be happy, so me doing this wasn’t a problem for them at all.”

A race you’ve dreamed of taking part in.
“To be honest, I’m very happy to be where I am and I get a huge amount of pleasure from driving in F1 today. There really isn’t any other time in which I would have liked to have driven.”

Your happiest memory of World Series by Renault?
“I have a lot of good memories of World Series by Renault. I’ve done a huge amount of driving here, and every year I raced in single-seaters I did it in WSR. It feels a little bit like my family, and whenever I come here I’m always reminded of all the good times.”

It’s World Series by Renault’s tenth season this year. Can you tell us what you were doing ten years ago?
“I must have been karting, as a junior, and I was going through some very tough times. I was too big for the class, too heavy, and I think my best finish was tenth or eleventh. It was a very frustrating year for me.”

And what will you be doing in ten years’ time?
“I still don’t know. I’m just concentrating on the present right now. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

Find out the message video from Jean-Eric Vergne on the World Series by Renault’s official Facebook page!