DS Virgin Racing team principal Alex Tai does not regret his decision to let Jean-Eric Vergne race in Saturday’s Buenos Aires ePrix after initially ruling him out due to illness.
Vergne came down with food poisoning overnight and looked set to miss the race, only to then appear at the track ahead of second practice and declare himself fit.
Tai initially rejected Vergne’s assertion, believing that the high temperatures in Buenos Aires would only worsen his condition.
After being assessed by the FIA medical staff and sitting out both practice sessions in a bid to perk up, both Tai and the team were satisfied that Vergne was fit the enter the race where he eventually finished 11th.
Speaking to Grand Prix Times after the race, Tai explained the decision taken by DS Virgin Racing and the discussions that took place with Vergne in the lead-up to the race.
“It was the right decision when I made it,” Tai said when asked if it was the correct call to let Vergne race. “It wouldn’t have been any time before then. I was getting a lot of pressure from all corners.
“In the Virgin group, safety has to be our guiding star. We run three airlines, two railway companies and a spaceline, and the first decision we make is for safety. Commercial decisions come after that. It was a horrible commercial decision not to run JEV, but I was prepared to do that in the interest of safety.”
Two-time WTCC champion Jose Maria Lopez had been lined up as a possible replacement for Vergne, completing a seat fitting for DS Virgin Racing on Saturday morning.
However, Tai maintained that he wanted Vergne in the car and was happy leaving the call as late as possible to make this possible.
“We had some very good options that everyone wanted us to try. I wanted to make sure that that was an option for us, but at the end of the day I want to run JEV,” Tai said.
“So I left it right up until the last moment to give us an opportunity to get that done. I said to JEV ‘how do you feel now?’ and previous to then I wasn’t convinced although he wanted to drive.
“At the last call, his colour had come back and then he did look a lot steadier. I looked him in the eye and said ‘are you fit?’, and so I said get in the car.
“We were getting a lot of grief for that. The fact is that we had to make a safety judgement for ourselves. Up until that moment, I was not happy.”
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