The Aston Martin team has announced that Formula E world champion and former Formula 1 driver Stoffel Vandoorne has been added to their test and reserve roster for the 2023 season in what's described as a 'significant role'.
The 30-year-old Belgian was previously part of the McLaren F1 driver programme and won 11 races on the way to clinching the GP2 Series title in 2015 with ART.
He made his Formula 1 debut the following year at Bahrain standing in for an injured Fernando Alonso and scored a point in that debut outing, and became part of the team's full-time driver line-up in 2017 and 2018 and taking part in 41 races alongside Alonso.
After leaving McLaren He ended up switching to the all-electric ABB FIA Formula E series, initially with HWA Racelab and then with Mercedes EQ, and went on to win the 2021/22 title by 33 points having previously been runner-up in 2019/20.
With Mercedes pulling out of Formula E he will race for the DS Penske Formula E Team alongside two time series champion Jean-Eric Vergne. But he will also dip his toe back into F1 with a parallel role at Aston Martin.
©Mercedes
“It is incredibly exciting to be stepping into a reserve-driver role in Formula 1, and I’m delighted to be doing it with Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team.," he said in a statement released by the team on Tuesday.
"I’ve watched with great interest how the team has developed and expanded operationally, and I know how incredibly determined it is to make progress in every area."
It means that Vandoorne will be reunited with Alonso who joins Aston next series after a surprise departure from Alpine. Lance Stroll will continue to race for the team owner by a conglomerate led by his father Lawrence.
"Joining Fernando - who I already know from my Formula 1 racing career - and Lance, to help them develop and improve next year’s car will be a terrific job," hew said.
"I’m really looking forward to the challenge – and reward – of working together with the whole organisation at Silverstone.”
Vandoorne's arrival was warmly welcomed by team principal Mike Krack.
“Stoffel has all the capabilities we need for this new and expanded role within the team: he is fast, analytical, hard-working and a fantastic team player.
"He will fit perfectly into our growing organisation, working alongside our other test driver, Felipe Drugovich.
"The whole team is hugely motivated for next year, and the appointment of Stoffel, alongside Fernando, Lance and Felipe, gives extra depth to our fantastic driver line-up.
"This will be a significant role for Stoffel, and we will be reliant on him to work hard with both our track and simulation and engineering teams to improve our performance for 2023 and beyond.”
When Vandoorne's parallel roles in F1 and Formula E clash, the team will have access to the services of their other test driver, Brazilian-Italian racer Felipe Drugovich who has just clinched the Formula 2 title.
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