Stoffel Vandoorne
Stoffel Vandoorne is a Belgian professional racing driver who is currently competing for Mercedes-Benz EQ in Formula E. He had previously competed in Formula One for McLaren until 2018. He is currently a test driver of Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team. Vandoorne currently resides in both Monte Carlo and Roeselare.
Early life
Stoffel Vandoorne was born in Kortrijk. 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.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. 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.Formula Renault
In 2010, Vandoorne moved up to single-seater racing, joining the F4 Eurocup 1.6 series. He went on to win the series on his first attempt, finishing the season with six wins and three further podium finishes. 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.In 2011, he graduated to competing in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 with Kurt Mollekens' KTR team. He finished fifth overall, with one podium at the Hungaroring and another eight-point-scoring finishes throughout the season. He also participated in Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, where he finished third in the series' standings with eight podiums.
For the 2012 season Vandoorne remained in the Eurocup, but left KTR to join Josef Kaufmann Racing. 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.
In 2013, Vandoorne raced in Formula Renault 3.5, where he replaced 2012 champion Robin Frijns at Fortec Motorsport. He finished runner-up to current Haas driver Kevin Magnussen with four wins and 10 podiums, including a victory at his home track of Spa-Francorchamps.
GP2 Series
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.Vandoorne reunited with ART for 2015, as well as was considered the main title contender. 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.
Super Formula
On 12 February 2016, it was announced that Vandoorne would race a Honda in Super Formula for Dandelion Racing. 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
In February 2013, Vandoorne joined McLaren's Young Driver Programme, 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.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.
McLaren (2016–2018)
2016
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 in the previous round. 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.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 season.
2017
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 season.
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.It was announced on 3 September 2018 that Vandoorne would leave McLaren at the end of the 2018 season.
Mercedes (2019–present)
Vandoorne was the simulator driver for the Mercedes team in 2019 and was named as one of the team's reserve drivers in 2020.Formula E
It was confirmed on 15 October 2018 that Vandoorne would drive for HWA Racelab for the 2018–19 Formula E season. 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. He came third in the 2019 Rome ePrix and booked his first podium in Formula E. In 2020 Season, Vandoorne with the 2019 Formula 2 Champion, Nyck de Vries drive for Mercedes-Benz EQ. Vandoorne took 2 consecutive podium in the two first races and able to become championship leader. But in the next three races he unable to maintain the championship contender because of poor finishes. Now with the COVID-19 Pandemic, championship came into the halt and Vandoorne scored 38 points, 29 points below the championship leader: Antonio Felix da Costa.FIA WEC Super Season
In April 2019, it was announced that Stoffel Vandoorne will compete for two races in the WEC for 2018-2019 for SMP Racing. He will drive the Russian BR1 №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.
Racing record
Career summary
* Season still in progress.Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pos | Points |
| 2013 | Fortec Motorsports | MNZ 1 1 | MNZ 2 3 | ALC 1 8 | ALC 2 3 | MON 1 9 | SPA 1 13 | SPA 2 1 | MSC 1 1 | MSC 2 1 | RBR 1 Ret | RBR 2 Ret | HUN 1 4 | HUN 2 2 | LEC 1 2 | LEC 2 Ret | CAT 1 3 | CAT 2 2 | 2nd | 214 |
Complete GP2 Series results
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | DC | Points |
| 2014 | ART Grand Prix | BHR FEA 1 | BHR SPR 22 | CAT FEA 13 | CAT SPR 10 | MON FEA 14 | MON SPR 13 | RBR FEA 2 | RBR SPR 15 | SIL FEA 3 | SIL SPR 9 | HOC FEA 2 | HOC SPR 3 | HUN FEA 7 | HUN SPR 1 | SPA FEA 2 | SPA SPR 6 | MNZ FEA 1 | MNZ SPR 13 | SOC FEA 5 | SOC SPR 2 | YMC FEA 1 | YMC SPR 5 | 2nd | 229 |
| 2015 | ART Grand Prix | BHR FEA 1 | BHR SPR 2 | CAT FEA 1 | CAT SPR 2 | MON FEA 1 | MON SPR 8 | RBR FEA 1 | RBR SPR 2 | SIL FEA 3 | SIL SPR 9 | HUN FEA 5 | HUN SPR 2 | SPA FEA 1 | SPA SPR 4 | MNZ FEA 2 | MNZ SPR 3 | SOC FEA 3 | SOC SPR 4 | BHR FEA 1 | BHR SPR 2 | YMC FEA 1 | YMC SPR C | 1st | 341.5 |
Complete Super Formula results
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | DC | Points |
| 2016 | Docomo Team Dandelion Racing | SUZ 3 | OKA 12 | FUJ Ret | MOT 6 | OKA 1 | OKA 7 | SUG 6 | SUZ 17 | SUZ 1 | 4th | 27 |
Complete Formula One results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | WDC | Points |
| McLaren Honda | McLaren MP4-31 | Honda RA616H 1.6 V6 t | AUS | BHR 10 | CHN | RUS | ESP | MON | CAN | EUR | AUT | GBR | HUN | GER | BEL | ITA | SIN | MAL | JPN | USA | MEX | BRA | ABU | 20th | 1 | |
| McLaren Honda | McLaren MCL32 | Honda RA617H 1.6 V6 t | AUS 13 | CHN Ret | BHR DNS | RUS 14 | ESP Ret | MON Ret | CAN 14 | AZE 12 | AUT 12 | GBR 11 | HUN 10 | BEL 14 | ITA Ret | SIN 7 | MAL 7 | JPN 14 | USA 12 | MEX 12 | BRA Ret | ABU 12 | 16th | 13 | ||
| McLaren F1 Team | McLaren MCL33 | Renault R.E.18 1.6 V6 t | AUS 9 | BHR 8 | CHN 13 | AZE 9 | ESP Ret | MON 14 | CAN 16 | FRA 12 | AUT 15† | GBR 11 | GER 13 | HUN Ret | BEL 15 | ITA 12 | SIN 12 | RUS 16 | JPN 15 | USA 11 | MEX 8 | BRA 15 | ABU 14 | 16th | 12 |
† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Complete Formula E results
| Year | Team | Chassis | Powertrain | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pos | Points |
| 2018–19 | HWA Racelab | Spark SRT05e | Venturi VFE05 | ADR 16 | MRK Ret | SCL Ret | MEX 18 | HKG Ret | SYX Ret | RME 3 | PAR Ret | MCO 9 | BER 5 | BRN 10 | NYC 13 | NYC 8 | 16th | 35 |
| 2019–20 | Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team | Spark SRT05e | Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01 | DIR 3 | DIR 3 | SCL 6 | MEX NC | MRK 15 | BER I | BER I | BER II | BER II | BER III | BER III | 6th* | 38* |
* Season still in progress.
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Rank | Points |
| 2018–19 | SMP Racing | LMP1 | BR Engineering BR1 | AER P60B 2.4 L Turbo V6 | SPA | LMS | SIL | FUJ | SHA | SEB | SPA 3 | LMS 3 | 11th | 38 |