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.
Early 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.[4] 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.[5]
Formula Renault
2010
Vandoorne (behind) racing Daniil Kvyat (front) in Formula Renault in 2012
In 2010, Vandoorne moved up to single-seater racing, joining the F4 Eurocup 1.6 series.[6] He went on to win the series on his first attempt, finishing the season with six wins and three further podium finishes.[7] 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.[8]
For the 2012 season Vandoorne remained in the Eurocup, but left KTR to join Josef Kaufmann Racing.[12] 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.
Vandoorne racing at the Silverstone round of the 2014 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.
2015
Vandoorne reunited with ART for 2015, as well as was considered the main title contender.[14] 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.[15] 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,[16] 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.[17]
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.[18]
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.[21]
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.[22]
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.[23]
It was announced on 3 September 2018 that Vandoorne would leave McLaren at the end of the 2018 season.[24]
Reserve driver (2020–2022)
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 Bahrain after Daniel Ricciardo tested positive for COVID-19.
Mercedes (2019–2022)
Vandoorne was the simulator driver for the Mercedes team in 2019[25] and was named as one of the team's reserve drivers in 2020,[26] but in the end was not chosen as the driver for the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix after Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19.[27] Vandoorne drove for Mercedes in the season-ending 2020 Abu Dhabi Young Drivers Test alongside Formula E teammate Nyck de Vries.[28]
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.[29][30]
It was confirmed on 15 October 2018 that Vandoorne would drive for HWA Racelab for the 2018–19 Formula E season.[35] 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.[36] However, he retired from the race after having a driveshaft issue.[37] He came third in the 2019 Rome ePrix and booked his first podium in Formula E.[38] Vandoorne finished his debut season in 16th position in the driver's standings with 35 points.[39]
Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team (2019–2022)
2019–20 season
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.[40] 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.[41] He ultimately finished 2nd in the standings, though behind Félix da Costa by 71 points.[42]
2020–21 season
Vandoorne continued to drive for the renamed Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team for the 2020–21 season, again partnering Nyck de Vries.[43] 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.[44] de Vries secured his first Drivers' Championship, as Vandoorne finished ninth in the standings.[45] Vandoorne and de Vries' total points haul allowed Mercedes to achieve their first Teams' Championship that season.[46] Vandoorne and de Vries' partnership will continue for the 2021-22 season.[47]
Vandoorne during testing in Valencia in December 2021
2021–22 season
Vandoorne and de Vries continued to race with the Mercedes-EQ team for the 2021–22 season, Mercedes' final in Formula E.[48] 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.[49] The following day, Vandoorne fought back to seventh and set the fastest lap of the race, having started from twelfth.[50] 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.[51][52][53]Monaco brought the highlight of the year, as Vandoorne dominated the second half of the race to take his first victory of the season.[54][55] 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.[56] 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.[57]
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.[58] 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.[59][60] In the South Korean capital, Evans took victory on Saturday, though he would not gain much ground as Vandoorne finished fifth.[61] On Sunday, Vandoorne finished second, clinching the title and bringing a second drivers' and teams' world championship to the departing Mercedes outfit.[62][63][64]
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.[65][66] The introduction of the Formula E Gen3 chassis to competition posed a challenge to Penske, leading to a disappointing season for Vandoorne.[67] 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.[68][69][70]
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.
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]
^"Vandoorne vise le titre avec Kaufmann" [Vandoorne eyes the title with Kaufmann]. AUTOhebdo (in French). Groupe Hommell. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
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