400 more horsepower for Vergne

On the Wednesday after the Spanish Grand Prix, Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne was back on a race track, this time at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, formerly home to that country’s Formula 1 Grand Prix. Jev was taking part in a filming day along with Toro Rosso sponsor CEPSA.

While it was business as usual for the Frenchman, as he lapped the track in his Formula 1 car, a new experience awaited him as he passengered Antonio Albacete at the wheel of a massive MAN racing truck. While Jev’s regular transport puts out around 800 horsepower, the huge red truck pumps out an incredible 1200, although of course the weight difference – 5,500 kilos for the truck as against a mere 650 for the race car – means that the F1 car still has the edge when it comes to lap times.

Albacete is an official driver for the CEPSA Truck Team, taking part in the European Truck Championship and will be tackling the first round of the series this coming weekend at the Misano circuit in Italy. Jev has one more week to wait before getting behind the wheel again, for the sixth round of the Formula 1 World Championship in Monaco.