Formula One GP2
What sport did Stoffel Vandoorne participate from 2014 to 2015?
Stoffel Vandoorne Stoffel Vandoorne ( born 26 March 1992 ) is a Belgian professional racing driver who is currently competing for Mercedes-EQ in Formula E . He had previously competed in Formula One for McLaren until 2018 . He is currently a test driver of Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team . Vandoorne currently resides in both Monte Carlo ( Monaco ) and Roeselare ( Belgium ) . Early life . 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 . 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 . 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 . Formula Renault . In 2010 , Vandoorne moved up to single-seater racing , joining the F4 Eurocup 1.6 series . He went on to win the series on his first attempt , finishing the season with six wins and three further podium finishes . 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 . In 2011 , he graduated to competing in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 with Kurt Mollekens KTR team . He finished fifth overall , with one podium at the Hungaroring and another eight-point-scoring finishes throughout the season . He also participated in Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup , where he finished third in the series standings with eight podiums . For the 2012 season Vandoorne remained in the Eurocup , but left KTR to join Josef Kaufmann Racing . 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 . In 2013 , Vandoorne raced in Formula Renault 3.5 , where he replaced 2012 champion Robin Frijns at Fortec Motorsport . He finished runner-up Kevin Magnussen with four wins and 10 podiums , including a victory at his home track of Spa-Francorchamps . 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 . Vandoorne reunited with ART for 2015 , as well as was considered the main title contender . 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 . Super Formula . On 12 February 2016 , it was announced that Vandoorne would race a Honda in Super Formula for Dandelion Racing . 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 . In February 2013 , Vandoorne joined McLarens Young Driver Programme , under the tutelage of his then manager Richard Goddard , in collaboration with the teams sporting director Sam Michael and its head of communications Matt Bishop , to whom Vandoorne had been introduced in 2011 by Alex Wurz . 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 . McLaren ( 2016–2018 ) . 2016 . On 31 March 2016 , it was announced 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 . After qualifying 12th ahead of Jenson Button , Vandoorne finished 10th and became the first reserve driver to score points on debut since Sebastian Vettel at the 2007 United States Grand Prix . 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 season . 2017 . 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 Alonsos 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 season . 2018 . 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 . It was announced on 3 September 2018 that Vandoorne would leave McLaren at the end of the 2018 season . Mercedes ( 2019–present ) . Vandoorne was the simulator driver for the Mercedes team in 2019 and was named as one of the teams 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 . Vandoorne drove for Mercedes in the season-ending 2020 Abu Dhabi Young Drivers Test alongside Formula E teammate Nyck de Vries . Formula E . It was confirmed on 15 October 2018 that Vandoorne would drive for HWA Racelab for the 2018–19 Formula E season . He would be joining Britains 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 . He came third in the 2019 Rome ePrix and booked his first podium in Formula E . 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 . The E-Prix of Mexico and Marrakesh saw a series of poor finishes , and at the time of the seasons 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 . He ultimately finished 2nd in the standings , though behind Félix da Costa by 71 points . Vandoorne continued to drive for the renamed Mercedes-EQ team for the 2020–21 season , again partnering Nyck de Vries . FIA WEC Super Season . In April 2019 , it was announced that Stoffel Vandoorne will compete for two races in the WEC for 2018-2019 for SMP Racing . 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 . Racing record . Racing career summary . As Vandoorne was a guest driver he was ineligible to score points. Complete Formula One results . Did not finish , but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance . Complete Formula E results . Season still in progress . Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results . Season still in progress .