Vandoorne ‘having the busiest time of my life’
Stoffel Vandoorne says he is currently experiencing the busiest spell of his racing career as he balances duties across Formula E, Formula 1 and the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Ex-McLaren F1 racer Vandoorne linked up with HWA Racelab in Formula E for the start of the 2018-19 season, where he has scored one pole and one podium finish for the team.
The HWA deal has led to links with Mercedes, with Vandoorne becoming the German marque’s simulator driver in F1, sharing duties with Esteban Ocon.
Stoffel Vandoorne says he is currently experiencing the busiest spell of his racing career as he balances duties across Formula E, Formula 1 and the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Ex-McLaren F1 racer Vandoorne linked up with HWA Racelab in Formula E for the start of the 2018-19 season, where he has scored one pole and one podium finish for the team.
The HWA deal has led to links with Mercedes, with Vandoorne becoming the German marque’s simulator driver in F1, sharing duties with Esteban Ocon.
On top of that, Vandoorne made his debut in the WEC on Saturday at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, where he scored a third-place finish for SMP Racing.
Vandoorne said he was enjoying the opportunity to sample different types of racing and adding to his skill set as a driver.
“I’m probably having the busiest time in my life now. I’ve never been so busy before,” Vandoorne told Crash.net.
“It’s nice to go from race to race and have different challenges. Next week we have Monaco in Formula E again, so it’s definitely no rest. I’m enjoying it.
“I’ve driven a lot of different cars in the past, and I’ve been racing in a lot of different series, and to do this one is kind of another box ticked.
“It’s a nice one, LMP1, here at Spa, my home race, but then also to be able to do Le Mans will be another special event.”
Vandoorne linked up with SMP Racing through his previous links to ART Grand Prix, which handles the Russian outfit’s operations in WEC. Vandoorne won the GP2 title with ART in 2015.
Despite having a two-race deal that will see him make a maiden appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, Vandoorne said he is not yet thinking about any possible plans in WEC for the ’19-20 campaign that begins in September.
“I’m not looking at next season yet. It’s too early to say,” Vandoorne said.
“It’s nice to have this experience, get a first taste of the WEC paddock, get a first taste of the cars.
“I’m sure there will be opportunities, but we have to wait and see. It’s too early to decide on that.”
