Ex-T🌜oro Rosso driver Jean-Eric Vergne has opened up about his time in Formula 1, saying he “was not smiling” during his three-year stint on the grid prior to his switch to Formula E.

Vergne rose through Red Bull’s junior ranks before landing a seat with Toro Rosso back in 2012, but was dropped after three seasons, initially to make wa🧸y for the arrival of Max Verstappen.

Vergne had also been promised a move up to🅰 Red Bull’s senior 🃏team in the event of Sebastian Vettel’s departure, only for the team to pr𝔍omote Daniil Kvyat for 2015 instead🥂.

, Vergne explained how he never felt truly happy during his time in F1, admitting that comments about 🐟his negative demeanour were true.

“When I was young, I was energetic, I was winning a lot of races and ch♛ampionships. ♏I arrived in Red Bull, and the first year was very difficult,” Vergne said.

“I think my head was really big. I was thinking I was the king, I was going to kill everyone and beat everyone. Obviously the first year was really ✅tough on me. People were seeing me as a negative person, never happy - which I was actually - and it took me too long to understand that you should be smiling.

“I think for three years, I was not smiling, and then I got this thing of the French guy beinไg moody൩, which I was.

“So then when I received the calꦆl, they told me goodbye, it was very difficult. I remember it was in the summer, I was with my family, and it was like a bomb c🧔oming on me, all your dreams coming away.”

Vergne moved into Formula E just three weeks after his F1 exit, signing initially with Andr�🐟�etti before spending his second season with Virgin.

The Frenchman conceded it took him until his third year in the category – when he joined Techeetah – to find his feet and regain his confidence, before going on to become a two-time Formula E champion with the te🍒am.

“When I left F1, I had no more cash, no more money,” Vergne said. “I was stupid with my money, I spen♓t it all, and I was not e꧙arning a lot of money. People think you’re a Formula 1 driver, it was not a lot, but I felt like I was a millionaire and I spent it all.

“I think it was a good time for me to💃 reset everything in my life. It took me at least two years to get back to normal. I wouldn’t say normal life, but normal mentality. My first two years of Formula E, I was really negative mood, and I think attracted a lot of bad things around.

“This is when everything started to be good with me again. I lo🤡st all my confidence, but since no-one really expected anything from me, I was about t✅o work with the team really hard.”

Vergne claimed his maiden Formula E title with Techeetah in 2018 before bꦰecoming the series' first multiple champion one year later, with the team also clinching its first championship.