Stoffel Vandoorne, born on March 26, 1992, in Kortrijk, Belgium, is a Belgian racing driver who became part of McLaren’s young driver programme in 2013 and served as the team’s third driver in 2014. Vandoorne made his racing debut at the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix, stepping in after Fernando Alonso sustained injuries in an accident in Australia. He was Alonso’s teammate at McLaren for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
| Nationality | Belgian |
|---|---|
| Born | Stoffel Vandoorne 26 March 1992 Kortrijk, Belgium |
Outside of F1, Stoffel Vandoorne is a 2022 World Champion in the FIA Formula E championship. His journey into single-seater racing started later than usual at age 18, due to financial constraints, but he quickly made his mark by winning two Formula Renault championships in 2010 and 2012, placing third in another within his first three years.
In 2013, he stepped up to the 3.5-litre Formula Renault, competing against then-McLaren junior Kevin Magnussen. Vandoorne claimed victory in his first race and secured three more wins, including a memorable victory in Belgium, finishing as runner-up in the championship.
He moved to the GP2 Series in 2014 with ART Grand Prix, a team known for nurturing talents like Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. Vandoorne won four races that year, narrowly missing the championship title. Staying with ART in 2015, he dominated the GP2 Series, winning seven races and clinching the championship by a margin of 160 points—a record that stands firm in the history of GP2 and FIA F2.
Despite his dominant performance, Vandoorne didn’t secure a full-time Formula One seat for 2016, instead becoming a test and reserve driver for McLaren and competing in Japan’s Super Formula. He made his F1 debut after Fernando Alonso’s accident at the 2016 Australian Grand Prix. Even without prior experience in that year’s car, he outqualified teammate Jenson Button and scored a point in his first race in Bahrain.
In 2017, Vandoorne joined McLaren’s F1 lineup, replacing the retiring Button during a challenging period with Honda. Despite the car’s limitations, he managed two seventh-place finishes. In 2018, despite a strong start, the McLaren struggled, and Vandoorne finished 16th in the championship, leading to his switch to Mercedes customer team HWA Racelab in Formula E for the late 2018 season, before it transitioned to a Mercedes works team. He has also worked as a test and reserve driver for both Mercedes and Aston Martin F1 teams.
Stoffel Vandoorne Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 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 |
Sources: Wikipedia.com
