Red Bull.com

As Jean-Eric Vergne – or JEV as he’s known in the team – will tell you, the last time a Frenchman won a grand prix, he was six years old. For the record, that was Olivier Panis at Monaco in 1996.

But this year sees three (count ’em, three) French drivers on the grid this year, the most since Stephane Sarrazin lined up at Interlagos in 1999 for his one and only grand prix appearance alongside Jean Alesi and Olivier Panis. Vergne’s emulation of Ricciardo by winning the 2010 British F3 title and then finishing second in the 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 series (Dan did that in 2010) should ensure he gets a better shake of the F1 stick than poor Sarrazin.

Jean-Eric and Daniel are, on paper, the most evenly matched of all team-mates this year, and with a good car under them, as the STR7 seems to be, then this will be one of the most intriguing head-to-heads of the season.

Keep up with Jean-Eric Vergne at his website.