Stoffel Vandoorne

Stoffel Vandoorne
Stoffel Vandoorne
	Vandoorne at the 2023 Berlin ePrix
Born	26 March 1992 (age 32); Kortrijk, West Flanders, Belgium
Formula E career
Debut season	2018–19
Current team	Maserati MSG
Car number	5 (2018–2022); 1 (2022–2023); 2 (2023–present)
Former teams	HWA, Mercedes, DS Penske
Starts	79
Championships	1 (2021–22)
Wins	3
Podiums	16
Poles	8
Fastest laps	3
Finished last season	10th (61 pts)
FIA World Endurance Championship career
Debut season	2018–19
Current team	Peugeot TotalEnergies
Racing licence	FIA Platinum
Car number	94
Former teams	SMP, Jota
Starts	16
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	7
Poles	2
Fastest laps	1
Best finish	2nd in 2021 (LMP2)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Belgian
Active years	2016–2018
Teams	McLaren
Car number	2
Entries	42
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	26
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	2016 Bahrain Grand Prix
Last entry	2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	2019, 2021, 2024
Teams	SMP, Jota, Peugeot
Best finish	3rd (2019)
Class wins	0
Previous series
2016; 2014–2015; 2013; 2011–2012; 2011–2012; 2010;	Super Formula; GP2 Series; Formula Renault 3.5; Formula Renault Eurocup; Formula Renault NEC; F4 Eurocup 1.6;
Championship titles
2015; 2012; 2010;	GP2 Series; Formula Renault Eurocup; F4 Eurocup 1.6;
Website	stoffelvandoorne.com

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Stoffel Vandoorne (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈstɔfəl vɑnˈdoːr(ə)n]; born 26 March 1992) is a Belgian racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot and in Formula E for Maserati. In formula racing, Vandoorne competed in Formula One from 2016 to 2018, and won the 2021–22 Formula E World Championship with Mercedes.

Born and raised in Kortrijk, West Flanders, Vandoorne began karting aged six. Despite struggling with a lack of funding, Vandoorne achieved success in national and international competition, progressing to junior formulae in 2010. He won his first championship at the 2010 F4 Eurocup with the FFSA Academy, then progressing to Formula Renault, where he won the Eurocup in 2012 and finished runner-up to Kevin Magnussen in the 3.5 Series in 2013. Vandoorne graduated to the GP2 Series with ART in 2014, finishing runner-up to Jolyon Palmer in his rookie season. The following season, he won the championship in record-breaking fashion with seven victories and 16 podiums from 21 starts. A member of the McLaren Young Driver Programme since 2013, Vandoorne made his Formula One debut with McLaren at the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix, substituting for an injured Fernando Alonso and scoring his maiden points finish after outqualifying teammate Jenson Button. He partnered Alonso as a full-time driver in 2017, scoring several points finishes across two full seasons before being released at the end of 2018; he has since served as a reserve driver for McLaren, Mercedes, Racing Point and Aston Martin.

Vandoorne moved into Formula E for the 2018–19 season with HWA. Despite the Venturi powertrains' relative lack of performance, Vandoorne achieved his maiden pole position at the Hong Kong ePrix. Vandoorne retained his seat at the newly-formed Mercedes team in 2019–20, finishing runner-up to António Félix da Costa after taking his maiden win at race six of the Berlin ePrix. Vandoorne entered sportscar racing in 2021, finishing runner-up in the LMP2 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship with Jota. In his third season with Mercedes in Formula E, Vandoorne won the World Championship after scoring eight podium finishes, including a win at the Monaco ePrix. He moved to DS Penske for 2022–23, but was unable to defend his title and left after two winless seasons to join Maserati. Vandoorne joined the Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar project in 2023, making his premier class WEC debut at the 6 Hours of Fuji.

Early and personal 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.

Junior racing career

Karting

Initially, lack of funding restricted Vandoorne to race 3 to 4 races per year. By age 16 he was Belgian KF2 Champion. In 2009 he finished as runner-up in the CIK-FIA World Cup in the KF2 category.^[1] The same year he won the 'steering wheel' competition held by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium. The prize money of 45,000 euros helped him start his car racing career in F4 Eurocup 1.6.^[2]

Formula Renault

2010

In 2010, Vandoorne moved up to single-seater racing, joining the F4 Eurocup 1.6 series.^[3] He went on to win the series on his first attempt, finishing the season with six wins and three further podium finishes.^[4] The prize from winning the series helped him to move up to the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 the following year. He also earned a place in the FIA Driver Academy.^[5]

2011

In 2011, he graduated to competing in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 with Kurt Mollekens' KTR team.^[6] He finished fifth overall, with one podium at the Hungaroring and another eight-point-scoring finishes throughout the season.^[7] He also participated in Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, where he finished third in the series' standings with eight podiums.^[8]

2012

For the 2012 season Vandoorne remained in the Eurocup, but left KTR to join Josef Kaufmann Racing.^[9] He won the championship by ten points after a tight battle between himself and Red Bull-backed Daniil Kvyat. Between them 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 contested selected events in the Northern European Cup, where he won five of the seven races that he started, and finished on the podium in a sixth race.

2013

In 2013, Vandoorne raced in Formula Renault 3.5, where he replaced 2012 champion Robin Frijns at Fortec Motorsport.^[10] He finished runner-up to Kevin Magnussen with four wins and 10 podiums, including a victory at his home track of Spa-Francorchamps.

GP2 Series

2014

In January 2014, it was confirmed that Vandoorne would make his debut in GP2, racing with ART. In the opening race at Bahrain, Vandoorne claimed his first victory of the season in the feature race. He followed this up with four consecutive pole positions, three more wins at the Hungaroring, Monza and Yas Marina and six additional podiums. Despite being a rookie, he finished runner-up to 2014 champion Jolyon Palmer.

2015

Vandoorne reunited with ART for 2015, as well as was considered the main title contender.^[11] He was partnered by 2014 Japanese Formula Three champion Nobuharu Matsushita. After five feature race wins, twelve podiums and four pole positions, Vandoorne took the title in Sochi, 108 points over his nearest rival Alexander Rossi.

Vandoorne holds the record for all-time most wins, most feature race wins, most pole positions and most consecutive pole positions, most podiums, most podiums in a season, most points and most points in a single season in GP2 history, with the series being rebranded as the FIA Formula 2 Championship at the end of the following year.

Super Formula

On 12 February 2016, it was announced that Vandoorne would race a Honda in Super Formula for Dandelion Racing.^[12] He finished fourth overall, the highest ranking among Honda engine users, with two wins and one pole position at Fuji Speedway in wet conditions throughout the season.

Formula One career

In February 2013, Vandoorne joined McLaren's Young Driver Programme,^[13] under the tutelage of his then manager Richard Goddard, in collaboration with the team's sporting director Sam Michael and its head of communications Matt Bishop, to whom Vandoorne had been introduced in 2011 by Alex Wurz.^[14]

In January 2014, he was announced as a third driver for McLaren F1 also taking up driving duties in the GP2 Series for ART Grand Prix.^[15]

McLaren (2016–2018, 2020–2022)

2016: Race debut as reserve driver

On 31 March 2016, it was announced Vandoorne would be replacing regular driver Fernando Alonso at the Bahrain Grand Prix after the Spaniard was ruled unfit to drive following a major accident during the Australian Grand Prix.^[16] After qualifying 12th ahead of Jenson Button, Vandoorne finished 10th and became the first reserve driver to score points on debut since Sebastian Vettel at the 2007 United States Grand Prix.^[17]

On 3 September 2016, ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, it was announced by McLaren that Jenson Button would not be racing in 2017, and that Vandoorne would be replacing him to partner Alonso for the 2017 season.^[18]

2017: Full rookie season

In his debut full season at McLaren, Vandoorne established himself as a considerable rookie next to veteran F1 Champion, Fernando Alonso. With the uncompetitive McLaren, Vandoorne racked up 13 points compared to Alonso's 17. The key issues lay in the reliability and performance of the car which resulted in 1 DNS and 5 DNFs throughout the 20 race season. Nevertheless, he managed to crack into the top 10 in Hungary, Malaysia and Singapore.

On 23 August 2017, it was announced that Vandoorne would be retained for the 2018 season.^[19]

2018

In the new McLaren Renault partnership, Vandoorne enjoyed a good start to the season with 3 points finishes in the first 4 races. However, as the season progressed, he struggled to maintain this momentum which left 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 ended the season in 16th ahead of 4 other drivers in the drivers' championship. However, the last few Grands Prix saw Vandoorne in some impressive battles, particularly in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Esteban Ocon and Romain Grosjean, which led him to finish 8th on the Formula 1 Power Rankings.^[20]

It was announced on 3 September 2018 that Vandoorne would leave McLaren at the end of the 2018 season.^[21]

2020–2022: Return to reserve driver role

Vandoorne was the simulator driver for the McLaren team in 2020 and was named as one of the team's reserve drivers in 2021, but in 2022 was not chosen as the driver for the final pre-season test at Bahrain after Daniel Ricciardo tested positive for COVID-19.

Mercedes development driver (2019–2022)

Vandoorne was the simulator driver for the Mercedes team in 2019^[22] and was named as one of the team's reserve drivers in 2020,^[23] but in the end was not chosen as the driver for the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix after Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19.^[24] Vandoorne drove for Mercedes in the season-ending 2020 Abu Dhabi Young Drivers Test alongside Formula E teammate Nyck de Vries.^[25]

Vandoorne was also made available as reserve driver for Racing Point in 2020 and McLaren from 2020 to 2022, as part of an agreement between Mercedes and both teams.^[26]^[27]

Aston Martin reserve driver (2023–present)

Vandoorne was announced to be joining Aston Martin for the 2023 Formula One World Championship as a reserve and simulator driver, sharing duties with 2022 Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich.^[28] Additionally, he was also made a reserve driver for McLaren.^[29] In August, Vandoorne drove the Aston Martin AMR23 during a tyre test at Spa-Francorchamps.^[30]^[31]

Vandoorne remained the reserve driver for Aston Martin for the 2024 season and drove an Aston Martin AMR24 during a tyre test at Spa-Francorchamps.^[32]

Formula E career

HWA (2018–2019)

It was confirmed on 15 October 2018 that Vandoorne would drive for HWA Racelab for the 2018–19 Formula E season.^[33] He would be joining Britain's Gary Paffett to complete the driver lineup for HWA Racelab. Vandoorne would go on and start his Formula E debut just 3 weeks after leaving Formula 1 and would come 17th in his first race. He has also achieved his first qualifying pole position in Formula E at a wet 2019 Hong Kong ePrix.^[34] However, he retired from the race after having a driveshaft issue.^[35] He came third in the 2019 Rome ePrix and booked his first podium in Formula E.^[36] Vandoorne finished his debut season in 16th position in the driver's standings with 35 points.^[37]

Mercedes-EQ (2019–2022)

2019–20

In the 2019–20 season, Vandoorne drove for Mercedes-Benz EQ with 2019 Formula 2 Champion, Nyck de Vries. Vandoorne took 2 consecutive podiums in the two first races.^[38] The E-Prix of Mexico and Marrakesh saw a series of poor finishes, and at the time of the season's suspension due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, he sat 29 points below the championship leader, António Félix da Costa. Following the resumption of the season for six races in Berlin, he finished in the points in four of the six races, including his first win in the season finale.^[39] He ultimately finished 2nd in the standings, though behind Félix da Costa by 71 points.^[40]

2020–21

Vandoorne continued to drive for the renamed Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team for the 2020–21 season, again partnering Nyck de Vries.^[41] Vandoorne achieved one win at the second race of 2021 Rome ePrix, and two third place finishes at 2021 Valencia ePrix and 2021 Berlin ePrix.^[42] de Vries secured his first Drivers' Championship, as Vandoorne finished ninth in the standings.^[43] Vandoorne and de Vries' total points haul allowed Mercedes to achieve their first Teams' Championship that season.^[44] Vandoorne and de Vries' partnership will continue for the 2021-22 season.^[45]

2021–22

Vandoorne and de Vries continued to race with the Mercedes-EQ team for the 2021–22 season, Mercedes' final in Formula E.^[46] The team started out with promising pace at the opening round in Diriyah, showcased by Vandoorne taking the first pole position of the season. During the race however, the Belgian fell behind his teammate after missing the Attack Mode activation point and eventually finished second.^[47] The following day, Vandoorne fought back to seventh and set the fastest lap of the race, having started from twelfth.^[48] After being taken out of a points-paying position by Lucas di Grassi near the end of the Mexico City ePrix, the Belgian returned to the rostrum in Rome, converting a pole position into third place on Saturday.^[49]^[50]^[51] Monaco brought the highlight of the year, as Vandoorne dominated the second half of the race to take his first victory of the season.^[52]^[53] More success - in the form of a pair of third places in Berlin - followed, before he took more points for his championship challenge at Jakarta and Marrakesh.^[54] With two of his title rivals, namely Jean-Éric Vergne and Edoardo Mortara, experiencing a difficult weekend at the New York City ePrix, Vandoorne was able to capitalise by way of a fourth and a second place, which put him at the top of the standings.^[55]

At the penultimate event in London, Vandoorne repeated his results from the previous round, most impressively performing a comeback drive from 13th to fourth on Sunday.^[56] These results, coupled with a technical problem for closest title rival Mitch Evans, put Vandoorne 36 points ahead of the Kiwi before the season finale in Seoul.^[57]^[58] In the South Korean capital, Evans took victory on Saturday, though he would not gain much ground as Vandoorne finished fifth.^[59] On Sunday, Vandoorne finished second, clinching the title and bringing a second drivers' and teams' world championship to the departing Mercedes outfit.^[60]^[61]^[62]

DS Penske (2023–2024)

2022–23

In October 2022, it was announced that Vandoorne would be joining the newly formed DS Penske outfit alongside fellow champion Jean-Éric Vergne for the 2023 season.^[63]^[64] The introduction of the Formula E Gen3 chassis to competition posed a challenge to Penske, leading to a disappointing season for Vandoorne.^[65] With no podiums, a first in the Belgian's Formula E career, and a lone pole in São Paulo, Vandoorne ended up eleventh in the standings, 51 points behind teammate Vergne.^[66]^[67]^[68]

2023–24

Vandoorne and Vergne were retained by DS Penske for the 2023–24 season.^[69]

Vandoorne would depart the team after two mediocre seasons with the team at the conclusion of the season.^[70]

Maserati (2024–present)

2024–25

Vandoorne would switch to Maserati MSG Racing for the 2024–25 season, lining up alongside Jake Hughes.^[71]

Sportscar racing career

FIA World Endurance Championship

2019

In April 2019, it was announced that Stoffel Vandoorne would compete for two races in the WEC for 2018-2019 for SMP Racing.^[72] He will drive the Russian BR1 No.11 prototype along with Vitaly Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, Vandoorne, alongside Petrov and Aleshin, finished 3rd place in the LMP1 Class. Vandoorne drove the first stint during weather conditions of snow, hail and rain. At the 24 hour of Le Mans he finished 3rd place.

2022

Vandoorne was set to test the 2023 Peugeot Hypercar at the Bahrain International Circuit during November 2022,^[73] but was not able to take part in it after being diagnosed with appendicitis.^[74]

2023

For 2023, Vandoorne was appointed as the reserve driver for the Peugeot Sport in the Hypercar category.^[75] However, he replaced an injured Nico Müller at Peugeot for the 6 Hours of Fuji, where he finished in seventh place.^[76]

2024

Vandoorne would race with Peugeot Sport full-time in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship alongside Nico Müller and Loïc Duval.^[77]

Other racing

IndyCar

On 17 November 2021, it was announced that Vandoorne will take part in an IndyCar Series test with Arrow McLaren SP at Sebring International Raceway on 6 December 2021.^[78]

Karting record

Karting career summary

Season	Series	Team	Position
2008	French Championship — KF2	VDK Racing	13th
2008	Belgian Championship — KF2	VDK Racing	1st
2009	CIK-FIA European Championship — KF2	VDK Racing	23rd
	CIK-FIA World Cup — KF2		2nd
	WSK International Series — KF2		22nd
2010	Racehall of Champions — 80 kg		12th
2012	Racehall of Champions — 80 kg		1st

Racing record