When Stoffel Vandoorne got into the Formula 1 cockpit for the first time, there were high hopes that the talented Belgian driver could become a future world champion.
Vandoorne had a very impressive résumé before starting his F1 career, having already won the F4 Eurocup, the Formula Renault Eurocup and the GP2 series.
It was time for the next step. In March 2016, lightning-fast Vandoorne made his F1 debut for McLaren at the Bahrain Grand Prix after replacing the injured Fernando Alonso. And he immediately increased the hype around him thanks to a tenth place – as the first reserve driver to score points on his debut since Sebastian Vettel in 2007.
Stoffel Vandoorne wants to make a name for himself in Formula E after moving from Formula 1
Before the 2017 season, it was announced that Vandoorne would replace Jenson Button in the McLaren hot seat – as a partner to the formidable Alonso.
But the worst came to be, and after only two seasons at McLaren, Vandoorne quickly looked inside again – and is now focused on making it a success within Formula E.
Despite the anti-peak of his F1 career, Vandoorne has no regrets but believes the timing in motorsport’s most famous format was completely wrong for him.
“I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to participate in Formula 1. It is not a matter of course for many drivers to race there,” said Vandoorne exclusively Sports mail.
“It was probably the worst time to be at McLaren in terms of timing alone. They were obviously going through a difficult time.
‘Lots of problems within the team, the car wasn’t competitive, there was some politics in the management. It just wasn’t the ideal time.
“I had so much support from McLaren from my junior series and they really built my career, shall we say. And they gave me the opportunity to drive in Formula 1, but I probably got the seat at the wrong time and the performance just wasn’t there. “
Behind the scenes, in the midst of turbulent times at McLaren, Vandoorne was battling a losing battle with the British engineering giants who were internally at war, while they also quarreled with their engine supplier Honda.
The car did not meet the required standards, and as a result, the unreliability of the engine hurt Vandoorne and McLaren’s chances.
Additionally, Alonso’s presence at McLaren made things a lot harder for Vandoorne – the great Spaniard expressed his grief over spending his twilight days at the bottom of the grid.
Vandoorne had a pretty miserable time at McLaren in F1, only lasting two years in the seat
Alonso has always been considered the captain at McLaren, and Vandoorne’s neck-to-neck record against the Spaniard made a pathetic read.
And after only two full seasons in Formula 1, McLaren decided to part with Vandoorne, who only finished 16th in the drivers’ championship on both occasions.
But when one door closes, another opens and Vandoorne has put his career back on track in Formula E – the all-electric racing series that is accelerating rapidly.
Vandoorne has been driving in FE for three seasons and is currently representing Mercedes-EQ, while he is also available as a substitute driver for the German constructor’s F1 team.
The 29-year-old now watches F1 from a distance on race days, but because of his partnership with Mercedes, he keeps an eye on the drama that is unfolding.
Mercedes has been second-best behind Red Bull for most of the season so far, but Lewis Hamilton’s Silverstone triumph put them back into the equation and he’s chasing Max Verstappen again.
And Vandoorne insists that Mercedes, who lost the last five Grands Prix to Red Bull, can never be written off.
“It was a very close fight,” added Vandoorne. “To be honest, Red Bull has been the better team lately. They have a little more power than Mercedes. I think the regulation changes probably hurt Mercedes more than Red Bull.
“But it’s still a world championship team and you can never forget it. You are a very strong group of people. I know it’s going to take a lot of effort and I think there will be races where they’ll still be the team to beat. But it won’t be easy, it will be a very, very close battle between the two of them for the rest of the season.
Vandoorne insists that the F1 giant Mercedes can never be written off in the constructors’ title race
Vandoorne is still clearly invested in Formula 1 thanks to his partnership with Mercedes, but does he still see a future for himself in the sport in which many have advised him to become a star?
“To be honest, I really see my future in FE. Of course, I’m very fortunate to have both sides of the cake, with the reserve driver role and the FE side, so it’s good to be a part of both.
“Basically, my main focus is on the FE program, because that’s my racing program. But it’s still good to be on the F1 side because it helped me bring some of the knowledge to the FE team.
“Mercedes is of course a very well-coordinated and successful team from which you can take a lot of positive experiences and experiences.”
The transition from F1 to FE is certainly not the easiest, and Vandoorne was quick to repeat that feeling.
The fuel-powered F1 machines have obvious advantages in terms of top speed and pace on the straights.
F1 cars can reach a top speed of up to 230 mph, while FE cars can reach speeds of around 254 mph. The engine power of F1 cars is also much higher.
But while F1 can brag about the speed and power of their cars, FE makes it a challenge and is going nowhere.
Since its inception in 2011, with the founding idea of racing through the streets of the world’s most famous cities, FE has grown stronger and continues to attract large audiences thanks to its niche search.
Vandoorne (L) admitted that he initially found the experience of driving a Formula E car “bizarre”
While the street circuits clearly appeal to the fans, the interactive elements of FE also make the difference.
A niche idea that FE has taken up is the “Fanboost”, a remarkable innovation in which a public vote determines which five drivers receive an additional boost in the middle of the race.
Other unique ideas are the ‘Attack Mode’ – a temporary power boost used by all drivers to make overtaking maneuvers much more frequent – which is very similar to adding DRS in F1 while doing the Super Pole Shoot-out a bit additional sharpness with The six best drivers from qualifying go to a race for one lap to secure the pole position and another three points.
“It’s a huge difference,” added Vandoorne as he detailed the transition from F1 to FE. “The cars are completely different and I would say the whole driving style is pretty bizarre. If you come from all ranks of the junior series, then you get into Formula 1, so every step makes sense. Because with every step up, the car has more power, more downforce and the driving style is very similar.
“Formula E is completely different, for example I had to learn how to brake again because we have regeneration at the rear of the car, so we basically don’t use a rear brake. We use the regeneration of the engine to brake the car. This feeling is very strange at first when you haven’t used electric cars in your entire career.
Regarding the innovative ideas in FE like ‘Fanboost’ and the Super Pole Shoot-Out that make the sport so unique, Vandoorne said, ‘It adds a lot of extra strategy to the race. I’m used to it now, but at first I found it quite strange dealing with these things.
“But it was also very interesting to see how different teams deal with it, how divided the strategies can be. When you take attack mode when you don’t take attack mode. Let’s say it spices up the race. ‘
The Belgian has now been in the FE for three years, and in his sophomore season he battled at the top of the leaderboard – finishing second behind DS Techeetah’s runaway champion Antonio Da Costa.
Vandoorne is celebrating after finishing third in Rome in 2019 when he drove for HWA Racelab, which has since been renamed Mercedes-EQ
Vandoorne has now established himself at FE, but it wasn’t the easiest journey into the sport for him as he started at the same time with the team he drove for in his debut season – HWA Racelab before being renamed Mercedes-EQ.
When asked whether it took a long time to get used to FE, Vandoorne replied: “The problem is that I got into Formula E with HWA and they were a completely new team. I think the process could probably have gone faster with a more established team because they would have taught me how to drive the car right from the start.
“They would have had a lot more experience with vehicle setup when HWA started this project. I mean, I knew exactly what to expect when I was trying to build a whole new team that started from scratch.
“There were weekends when we got everything right and there were weekends when we basically got everything wrong. That was sometimes painful, but it also shows how far we’ve come today as a team with Mercedes. “
It’s been a learning curve for Vandoorne, with lots of ups and downs along the way, and this season has certainly not been easy.
Inconsistency has hurt Vandoorne and Mercedes’ chances, and ahead of the London get-together this weekend at the Royal Docks and the ExCeL London Exhibition Center – the world’s first indoor / outdoor race – the 29-year-old is in 13th place.
But with four remaining races, the last two of which will be held in Berlin in mid-August, there is definitely a chance for him to move up a bundled leaderboard – with just 22 points, Vandoorne is 13th and third place.
Whatever the outcome, Vandoorne is enjoying his new chapter in FE and has left his F1 demons firmly behind.
The post Stoffel Vandoorne opens his tough stint with McLaren in F1 and his transition to Formula E. first appeared on monter-une-startup.
