Stoffel Vandoorne was born on 26 March 1992 and is a Belgian professional racing driver who is currently racing for DS Penske in Formula E He had previously competed in Formula One for McLaren from 2016 to 2018.
42 Facts About Stoffel Vandoorne
2.
Stoffel Vandoorne is currently a test driver for Aston Martin and McLaren.
3.
Stoffel Vandoorne started karting after the owner of the track gave him a mini-kart.
4.
In 2010, Stoffel Vandoorne moved up to single-seater racing, joining the F4 Eurocup 1.6 series.
5.
Stoffel Vandoorne went on to win the series on his first attempt, finishing the season with six wins and three further podium finishes.
6.
Stoffel Vandoorne earned a place in the FIA Driver Academy.
7.
Stoffel Vandoorne finished fifth overall, with one podium at the Hungaroring and another eight-point-scoring finishes throughout the season.
8.
Stoffel Vandoorne participated in Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, where he finished third in the series' standings with eight podiums.
9.
Stoffel Vandoorne won the championship by ten points after a tight battle between himself and Red Bull-backed Daniil Kvyat.
10.
Stoffel Vandoorne finished the season with four wins and six podiums to his name.
11.
Stoffel Vandoorne 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.
12.
In 2013, Stoffel Vandoorne raced in Formula Renault 3.5, where he replaced 2012 champion Robin Frijns at Fortec Motorsport.
13.
Stoffel Vandoorne finished runner-up to Kevin Magnussen with four wins and 10 podiums, including a victory at his home track of Spa-Francorchamps.
14.
In January 2014, it was confirmed that Stoffel Vandoorne would make his debut in GP2, racing with ART.
15.
Stoffel Vandoorne followed this up with four consecutive pole positions, three more wins at the Hungaroring, Monza and Yas Marina and six additional podiums.
16.
Stoffel Vandoorne reunited with ART for 2015, as well as was considered the main title contender.
17.
Stoffel Vandoorne was partnered by 2014 Japanese Formula Three champion Nobuharu Matsushita.
18.
Stoffel 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.
19.
Stoffel Vandoorne 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.
20.
In February 2013, Stoffel 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 Stoffel Vandoorne had been introduced in 2011 by Alex Wurz.
21.
On 31 March 2016, it was announced Stoffel 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.
22.
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 Stoffel Vandoorne would be replacing him to partner Alonso for the 2017 season.
23.
On 23 August 2017, it was announced that Stoffel Vandoorne would be retained for the 2018 season.
24.
Stoffel Vandoorne ended the season in 16th ahead of 4 other drivers in the drivers' championship.
25.
Stoffel 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.
26.
Stoffel Vandoorne was the simulator driver for the Mercedes team in 2019 and was named as one of the team's reserve drivers in 2020, but in the end was not chosen as the driver for the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix after Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19.
27.
Stoffel Vandoorne drove for Mercedes in the season-ending 2020 Abu Dhabi Young Drivers Test alongside Formula E teammate Nyck de Vries.
28.
Stoffel Vandoorne was 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.
Stoffel Vandoorne is 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.
30.
Stoffel Vandoorne would be joining Britain's Gary Paffett to complete the driver lineup for HWA Racelab.
31.
Stoffel 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.
32.
Stoffel Vandoorne has achieved his first qualifying pole position in Formula E at a wet 2019 Hong Kong ePrix.
33.
Stoffel Vandoorne came third in the 2019 Rome ePrix and booked his first podium in Formula E Vandoorne finished his debut season in 16th position in the driver's standings with 35 points.
34.
Stoffel Vandoorne took 2 consecutive podiums in the two first races.
35.
Stoffel Vandoorne ultimately finished 2nd in the standings, though behind Felix da Costa by 71 points.
36.
Stoffel 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.
37.
In October 2022, it was announced that Stoffel Vandoorne would be joining the newly formed DS Penske outfit alongside fellow champion Jean-Eric Vergne for the 2023 season.
38.
Stoffel Vandoorne 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.
39.
Stoffel Vandoorne drove the first stint during weather conditions of snow, hail and rain.
40.
Stoffel Vandoorne was set to test the 2023 Peugeot Hypercar at the Bahrain International Circuit during November 2022, but was not able to take part in it after contracting appendicitis.
41.
For 2023, Stoffel Vandoorne was appointed as the reserve driver for the Peugeot Sport in the Hypercar category.
42.
On 17 November 2021, it was announced that Stoffel Vandoorne will take part in an IndyCar Series test with Arrow McLaren SP at Sebring International Raceway on 6 December 2021.