Aston Martin announced on Tuesday that former Formula 1 driver and Formula E Champion Stoffel Vandoorne will join the team as test and reserve driver in 2023.
The 30-year-old Belgian driver drove for McLaren for two complete seasons in 2017 and 2018 in addition to one race in 2016.
He will be reunited with former McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso who is joining the team in 2023 as well.
Aston Martin Statement
Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One™ Team (AMF1) is delighted to announce that Stoffel Vandoorne will join the outfit’s driving roster for the 2023 season.
He will join Brazil’s Felipe Drugovich as a test and reserve driver – the pair dovetailing their duties across next year’s 24-race calendar. In this role, Stoffel will undertake an intensive simulation and development programme at the team’s Silverstone factory.
Vandoorne, 30, dominated GP2, winning 11 races and earning the 2015 title, he started 41 Grands Prix between 2016 and ’18, and, across three Formula E seasons, he won three races and became world champion in 2021/2022.
He will fit his AMF1 commitments around the new Formula E season, in which he will race for the DS Penske team in 2022/2023.
Stoffel Vandoorne said: “It is incredibly exciting to be stepping into a reserve-driver role in Formula One – and I’m delighted to be doing it with Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One™ Team. 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. Joining Fernando, who I already know from my Formula One racing career, and Lance, to help them develop and improve next year’s car will be a terrific job, and I’m really looking forward to the challenge – and reward – of working together with the whole organisation at Silverstone.”
Team Principal Mike Krack said: “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, and 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.”
Welcome to the team, @svandoorne.
Formula E champion Stoffel Vandoorne enhances the 2023 @AstonMartinF1 driver line-up by joining @FelipeDrugovich as a test and reserve driver.
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— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) November 1, 2022