Does freshly crowned Formula E champion Stoffel Vandoorne deserve another chance in F1? This writer says absolutely. Vandoorne won the Formula E title this year by 33 points and being easily the most consistent driver on the Formula E grid this year. Vandoorne never had a chance in his time at Mclaren in F1, with the 2017-2018 car no where near competitive enough, but in his first season as a rookie scored 13 points compared to 2 time world champion Fernando Alonso’s 17 in 2017. In 2018 he scored points in 3 of the first 4 races but struggled mightily the rest of the year before being let go by Mclaren.
Since leaving Mclaren Vandoorne has been a reserve and test driver for both Mclaren and Mercedes while racing in Formula E. In Formula E Vandoorne has shown he still has what it takes to be successful in F1, he just needs the right team to give him that chance. Vandoorne finished 16th in his first full season in Formula E and while there were struggles at times, he got his first podium at the Rome E prix that year. After a switch to Mercedes for the following year, Vandoorne showed his true pace and racecraft, finishing 2nd in the drivers standings and grabbing a pole and win in Berlin. In his 2nd year with Mercedes and teammate Nich De Vries would bear a little less fruit but Vandoorne would win in Rome, site of his first podium in Formula E.
This season however is where Vandoorne would flourish. Being on the podium for 8 of the 16 races and only finishing outside of the points once with one victory coming at Monaco, Vandoorne won the championship comfortably over Mitch Evans by 33 points after the final round in Seoul. With this performance in Formula E this year and his overall consistency the past 2, I believe this makes the question of whether Vandoorne should get another look much easier.
With the F1 silly season in full swing with Sebastian Vettel retiring and Fernando Alonso set to replace him at Aston Martin, and the Oscar Piastri drama with Alpine and Mclaren, there will be open seats heading into next season. With several others having contracts up at the end of the season as well, I see a perfect opportunity for Vandoorne to get his 2nd chance in F1. I believe however it will come down to where Piastri ends up going, whether it ends up being Alpine or Mclaren. Either way there will be an open seat at both teams, with Alonso moving on and what I believe is inevitable in Daniel Ricciardo being bought out at the papaya team.
Stoffel Vandoorne never really had a chance in his first stint in Formula 1, taking a very uncompetetive Mclaren to points finishes and nearly outscoring a 2 time world champion in his first full season. With his unbridled consistency in Formula E and being crowned champion with 8 podiums out of 16 races and finishing out of the points just 1 time, I fully believe Stoffel deserves one more shot in Formula 1.