Formula E champion Stoffel Vandoorne will join Aston Martin’s F1 team as a test and reserve driver next year.
Vandoorne became Formula E world champion for Mercedes this year before the team left the series, and will defend his title with DS Penske. He will share Aston Martin reserve duties with reigning Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich.
The 30-year-old scored a point on his F1 debut in the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix as a substitute for Fernando Alonso at McLaren. He drove alongside Alonso full-time at the team over the following two season, before being dropped at the end of 2018. Since then he has served as a reserve driver for Mercedes while also competing successfully for the team in FE.
He described his move to the Silverstone-based Aston Martin team as “incredibly exciting”.
“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.”
Vandoorne will be reunited with his former team mate Alonso as he moves into Aston Martin’s race line-up for 2023 alongside Lance Stroll. “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,” said Vandoorne.
Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack believes Vandoorne “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”.
View the current list of 2023 F1 drivers and teams
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