Stoffel Vandoorne

At 32 years old, Stoffel Vandoorne has this physical status:

Stoffel Vandoorne (born 26 March 1992) is a Belgian professional racing driver who is currently competing for Mercedes in Formula E. He had previously competed in Formula One for McLaren.

He will remain as a simulator driver for the Mercedes team in 2019.

Vandoorne currently resides in both Monte Carlo (Monaco) and Roeselare (Belgium).

Early life

Stoffel Vandoorne was born in Kortrijk, West Flanders. Vandoorne was introduced to motorsport at the age of six during a visit to the kart track of World Karts in Kortrijk in Flanders, Belgium, with his father. Vandoorne started karting after the owner of the track gave him a mini-kart.

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Career

Initially, a lack of funding limited Vandoorne to 3 to four races per year. He was a Belgian KF2 Champion by age 16, and he was back in Belgium by age 16. In 2009, he came in second place in the CIK-FIA World Cup in the KF2 division. He also won the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium's'steer wheel' competition the previous year. In F4 Eurocup 1.6, the reward money helped him start his car racing career.

Vandoorne vs. single-seater racing in 2010, making the F4 Eurocup 1.6 series his first appearance. On his first attempt, he went on to win the series for the first time, winning six titles and three others in the series. The series's grand prize helped him progress to the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 the following year. He also earned a spot in the FIA Driver Academy.

He joined Kurt Mollekens' KTR team in 2011 and began competing in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. He came in fifth overall, with one podium finish at the Hungaroring and another eight-point-scoring finish throughout the season. He also competed in Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, where he finished third in the series's standings with eight podiums.

Vandoorne remained in the Eurocup through the 2012 season, but Josef Kaufmann Racing moved from KTR to Josef Kaufmann Racing. After a close contest between himself and Red Bull-backed Daniil Kvyat, he claimed the championship by ten points. They won 11 of the 14 races and finished over 100 points ahead of their nearest challenger. Vandoorne finished the season with four wins and six podiums to his name. He also competed in the Northern European Cup, where he won five of the seven races he started and ended on the podium in a sixth run.

Vandoorne rode in Formula Renault 3.5, where he defeated 2012 champion Robin Frijns at Fortec Motorsport. He came in runner-up to Kevin Magnussen with four victories and ten podiums, as well as a victory at Spa-Francorchamps, his home track.

Vandoorne would make his debut in GP2, with ART in January 2014. Vandoorne won his first match of the season in the feature event at Bahrain. He continued his good work with four pole positions, three more victories at the Hungaroring, Monza and Yas Marina, as well as six additional podiums. Despite being a rookie, he came in runner-up to 2014 champion Jolyon Palmer.

Vandoorne resurfaced with ART in 2015, as well as being voted the top title contender. He was joined by 2014 Japanese Formula Three champion Nobuharu Matsushita. Vandoorne claimed the Sochi championship after five feature race victories, twelve podiums, and four pole positions, defeating his nearest competitor Alexander Rossi by 108 points.

Vandoorne will compete in the Super Formula for Dandelion Racing, announced on February 12, 2016. He came in fourth overall, the highest ranking among Honda engine enthusiasts, with two victories and one pole position at Fuji Speedway in wet weather throughout the season.

Vandoorne was hired by McLaren's Young Driver Programme in February 2013, under the guidance of his then-manager Richard Goddard, as well as team's sports director Sam Michael and its head of communications Matt Bishop, to whom Vandoorne was introduced in 2011 by Alex Wurz.

He was unveiled in January 2014 as the third driver for McLaren F1 in the ART Grand Prix, with a different driving role.

Following a big crash in the previous round, Vandoorne will swap regular driver Fernando Alonso at the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 31, 2016. Vandoorne finished 10th and became the first reserve driver to score points on debut since Sebastian Vettel at the 2007 United States Grand Prix, placing 12th in qualifying 12th positions ahead of Jenson Button.

Jenson Button will not be racing in 2017 and Vandoorne will replace him with partner Alonso for the 2017 season, and McLaren revealed it on September 3rd, 2016.

Vandoorne made his McLaren debut as a young rookie next to veteran Formula One Champion Fernando Alonso. Vandoorne racked up 13 points against Alonso's 17. The car's main concern was its reliability and performance, with 1 DNS and 5 DNFs in the 20 race season. Nevertheless, he managed to crack the top ten in Hungary, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Vandoorne would be retained for the 2018 season, according to the publication on August 23, 2017.

Vandoorne's latest McLaren Renault partnership got off to a promising start in the first four races, earning 3nd place. However, as the season progressed, he failed to sustain this momentum, leaving him with 8 points by the Japanese Grand Prix. Moreover, the lack of a competitive package in the McLaren resulted in a long drought in points finishes between the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix. Vandoorne finished the season in 16th, behind four other drivers in the drivers' championship. However, Vandoorne was involved in some thrilling competitions in Abu Dhabi, including Esteban Ocon and Romain Grosjean, who finished 8th in the Formula 1 Power Rankings.

Vandoorne will leave McLaren at the end of the 2018 season, according to a tweet on September 3, 2018.

Vandoorne served as the team's reserve driver in 2021 and was named as one of the team's reserve drivers in 2022, but after Ricciardo tested positive for COVID-19, the simulator was not selected as the driver for the final pre-season testing in Bahrain.

Vandoorne was the simulator driver for the Mercedes team in 2019 and was named as one of the team's reserve drivers in 2020, but after Hamilton failed to select the right driver for the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix after Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19. In the upcoming 2020 Abu Dhabi Young Drivers Test, Vandoorne rode for Mercedes alongside Formula E teammate Nyck de Vries.

Vandoorne will race for HWA Racelab for the 2018–19 Formula E season, it was announced on October 15, 2018. Gary Paffett of the United Kingdom will lead the HWA Racelab's driver lineup. Only 3 weeks after leaving Formula One and landing 17th in his first race, Vandoorne will resume and begin his Formula E debut. At a wet 2019 Hong Kong ePrix, he has also claimed his first pole position in Formula E. He came third in the 2019 Rome ePrix, his first podium appearance in Formula E.

Vandoorne, with 2019 Formula 2 Champion, Nyck de Vries, rode for Mercedes-Benz EQ in the 2019–20 season. In the two first races, Vandoorne achieved two podiums in a row. The E-Prix of Mexico and Marrakesh had a string of poor finishes, and at the time of the season's suspension due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, he sat 29 points behind champion António Félix da Costa. He finished in the top in four of the six races, including his first victory in the season finale. He ended up second in the standings, but behind Félix da Costa by 71 points.

Vandoorne continued to work for the renamed Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team for the 2020–21 season, once more partnering Nyck de Vries. Vandoorne won one race of 2021 Rome ePrix, as well as two third place finishers at 2021 Valencia ePrix and 2021 Berlin ePrix. With Vandoorne finishing ninth in the standings, de Vries won his first Drivers' Championship. Mercedes was able to win their first Teams' Championship of the season thanks to a combination of vandoorne and de Vries. The 2021-22 season of vandoorne and de Vries will continue.

Vandoorne continued to race with the Mercedes-EQ team for the 2021-22 season in Formula E's final season, winning in the 2022 Monaco ePrix and seven other podiums, putting him ahead of New Zealand driver Mitch Evans by 33 points.

Vandoorne will be joining the newly formed DS Penske outfit alongside fellow champion Jean-Éric Vergne for the 2023 season.

Stoffel Vandoorne will race in the WEC from 2018-2019. In the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the 24 hours of Le Mans, he will pilot the Russian BR1 No.11 prototype alongside Vitaly Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin.

Vandoorne, together with Petrov and Aleshin, finished third in the LMP1 Class in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. During weather conditions of snow, hail, and rain, Vandoorne rode his first stint. He came in third place in Le Mans' 24 hours.

Vandoorne will be the first to participate in an IndyCar Series run with Arrow McLaren SP at Sebring International Raceway on November 1721.

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