Vandoorne confirmed at Mercedes in 2019!
After his dismissal from McLaren and consequently from F1, Stoffel Vandoorne found refuge at Mercedes as a development driver.
The two biggest losers in the driver market will occupy the same position next year! Indeed, Stoffel Vandoorne and Esteban Ocon have been appointed as development drivers for the world champion team, Mercedes.
If the choice of placing the Frenchman in this position was inevitable given the connection between Mercedes and the Racing Point Force India driver, the link between the Belgian and the German team is more recent. The first step was the announcement of his recruitment in Formula E by the HWA team (a subsidiary of Mercedes) to drive from 2019 onwards, following his dismissal from McLaren.
The 2015 GP2 champion experienced a 2018 campaign that was disappointing, to say the least, leading the British team to favor the arrival of Lando Norris, considered a hopeful by McLaren. Stoffel Vandoorne had the same reputation in 2017 when he entered the premier category of motorsport.
An incredible crowd out at the #AbuDhabiGP fan signing to see @svandoorne. 👋🖊️ pic.twitter.com/b5ZnjriZhh
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) November 22, 2018
This move to Mercedes is therefore welcome for the Belgian driver who must absolutely revive his career and he is well aware of it: «It’s something exciting for me to stay involved in the F1 world, to be with the World Champions too. For me, it will be something very interesting. I am sure I can bring them a lot of new ideas, shall we say, but also for me, it will allow me to see the differences because I have only worked with McLaren in F1. It’s exciting to discover a new environment.»
