Stoffel Vandoorne Biography: Stoffel Vandoorne is a Belgian professional racing driver who competes in Formula E with DS Penske. From 2016 to 2018, he was a Formula One driver for McLaren. Currently, he works as a test driver for Aston Martin and McLaren. He was champion of the 2015 GP2 Series and the 2021-22 Formula E World Championship. To know about him, read this blog till the end.
Table of Contents
Stoffel Vandoorne Biography
Stoffel Vandoorne Biography: Stoffel Vandoorne was born in the West Flemish town of Kortrijk. Vandoorne was exposed to motorsport at the age of six when his father took him to the World Karts kart track in Kortrijk, Flanders, Belgium. Vandoorne began karting after the track’s owner offered him a mini-kart.
Stoffel Vandoorne Wiki
| Name | Stoffel Vandoorne |
| Date Of Birth | 26 March 1992 |
| Age | 32 years old (as of 2024) |
| Birth Place | Kortrijk, Belgium |
| Height | 5ft 10inch |
| Weight | 65kg |
| Zodiac Sign | Aries |
| Profession | Racing Driver |
| Net Worth | $5 million |
| Car Collection | N/A |
Also Read: Daniel Ricciardo Biography, Wiki, Net Worth, Personal Life, Career
Stoffel Vandoorne Career
Initially, financial limitations limited Vandoorne to three to four competitions per year. He was the Belgian KF2 Champion at age 16. In 2009, he placed second in the KF2 category of the CIK-FIA World Cup. The same year, he won the steering wheel’ competition hosted by the Royal Car Club of Belgium. The prize money of 45,000 euros helped him launch his F4 Eurocup 1.6 career.
In 2013, Vandoorne competed in Formula Renault 3.5 for Fortec Motorsport, replacing 2012 champion Robin Frijns. He finished second to Kevin Magnussen with four victories and ten podium finishes, including a win on his home circuit of Spa-Francorchamps.
Vandoorne joined McLaren’s Young Driver Programme in February 2013, under the guidance of his then-manager Richard Goddard, in conjunction with the team’s sporting director Sam Michael & its head of communications Matt Bishop, to whom Vandoorne had been introduced in 2011 by Alex Wurz. In January 2014, he was announced as the 3rd driver for McLaren F1 and a driver for ART Grand Prix in the GP2 Series.
On March 31, 2016, it was announced that Vandoorne would replace Fernando Alonso at the Bahrain Grand Prix after the Spaniard became unsuitable for driving following a severe accident at the previous race. Vandoorne qualified 12th, ahead of Jenson Button, and finished 10th, becoming the first reserve driver to score points in his debut since Sebastian Vettel at the 2007 United States Grand Prix. Before the Italian Grand Prix, McLaren announced on September 3, 2016, that Jenson Button would not be racing in 2017 and that Vandoorne would replace him as Alonso’s 2017 teammate.
In his first complete season with McLaren, Vandoorne proved himself a famous rookie alongside F1 Champion Fernando Alonso, a veteran driver. With the uncompetitive McLaren, Vandoorne scored 13 points to Alonso’s 17 points. The primary issues with the vehicle were its reliability and performance, resulting in 1 DNS and 5 DNFs throughout 20 races. However, he reached the top 10 in Hungary, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Vandoorne was the Mercedes team’s simulator driver in 2019 and one of the team’s reserve drivers in 2020, but he was not selected as the driver for the Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020 after Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19. Vandoorne participated in the 2020 Abu Dhabi Young Drivers Test for Mercedes alongside Formula E teammate Nyck de Vries.
Following an agreement between Mercedes and both teams, Vandoorne was made available as a reserve driver for Racing Point in 2020 and McLaren from 2020 to 2022. Vandoorne will share duties with 2022 Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich as a reserve and simulator driver for Aston Martin in the 2023 Formula One World Championship. In addition, he was appointed as McLaren’s reserve driver.
In October 2022, it was announced that Vandoorne and fellow champion Jean-Éric Vergne would join the newly established DS Penske team for the 2023 season. DS Penske has signed Vandoorne and Vergne for the 2023-24 season.
