Belgian fast-tracked to follow in footsteps of Hamilton and Button
Stoffel Vandoorne tells Daniel Johnson how he is coping with the lofty expectations at McLaren
Butch Harmon
If Stoffel Vandoorne, born in Kortrijk, Belgium, was called Stephen Vincent, hailing from Hitchin, Hertfordshire, one has the feeling he might have made it to Formula One a little earlier. But it is a good thing that Vandoorne has earnt the McLaren seat purely by virtue of his talent – rather than by family name, money or marketing – for the task ahead is a daunting one.
The 24-year-old is following in the footsteps of Lewis Hamilton in taking the McLaren drive as a rookie, and like the reigning champion, will be partner to Fernando Alonso. The two-time champion is an even more complete driver now than the one who was embarrassed by Hamilton in 2007.
Vandoorne watched on from the McLaren garage yesterday as Hamilton returned to the sort of form which took the sport by storm all those years ago, exorcising the demons of Singapore to take an emphatic pole position from his Mercedes teammate, Nico Rosberg.
If treading the same path as the three-time champion was not enough pressure already, Vandoorne is filling the shoes of Hamilton’s compatriot, Jenson Button. As we spoke in the airconditioned relief of McLaren’s hospitality unit, it was being decked out as the Dog and Button, complete with dartboard, table football and pork scratchings, to mark Button’s 300th race in F1, a reminder of what Vandoorne has to live up to.
The Belgian, announced as Button’s replacement last month in Monza, knows the challenge is huge. “People see Fernando as one of the most complete drivers and the toughest to beat,” Vandoorne told The Sunday Telegraph. “It’s not going to be easy, but I wanted to race in F1 and go up against the best drivers. It is positive Fernando is so strong. It’s good for my career as well.”
His last-minute promotion from reserve to race driver this year in Bahrain, standing in for the injured Alonso, showed he is unlikely to be humiliated by the Spaniard. Championship-winning seasons in the junior categories, particularly GP2 last year, had already marked him out as one to watch, but out-qualifying Button before scoring a point on debut really made people take notice, especially McLaren.
Vandoorne was in Okayama, testing in the quickest series in Japan, when he got the call from Eric Boullier, McLaren’s racing director, that he was needed 5,000 miles away in Bahrain. In the airport lounge, he was frantically downloading documents from the team’s engineers. Via Tokyo, and Dubai, he made it to Bahrain just a few hours before first practice.
“It was pretty hectic,” Vandoorne says. “The adrenalin got me through.”
After a ragged start, he excelled. It played no small part in why he was rewarded with the drive. “It definitely helped. Even if people said there was no pressure that weekend, there were still expectations.”
Vandoorne’s path to F1 is a depressingly rare one. It began when his father, Patrick, an architect, was asked to design a restaurant for a local kart track. One day the owner of the circuit put the six-year-old Vandoorne in a kart. For a long time he thought karting was as far as he would go. “I knew F1 wasn’t realistic to think about. We didn’t have the money,” he says. But he made the switch into singleseaters after winning a competition organised by the Belgian motorsport federation, which cost €100 to enter.
Even then, he had to win all the championships he competed in to maintain sponsors and progress. He was picked up by McLaren in 2013, smoothing the path since somewhat.
Rob Wilson, who has coached many of their young drivers, says he is one of the best he has seen. Toto Wolff, the Mercedes boss, spent this year ridiculing McLaren for not promoting Vandoorne sooner, and said they would be mad not to select the Belgian over Button. Whether McLaren pushed Button out or he chose to walk – or a combination of the two – there is a lot of pressure on Vandoorne’s shoulders to be a success, after the team’s last young talent, Kevin Magnussen, proved something of a failure.
“Obviously, it’s big shoes to fill,” Vandoorne adds. “He’s a world champion, the most experienced driver in F1. It’s never easy to replace a driver like him. But I’m aware of that and at some point I have to start. I feel confident I can do a good job.”