Stoffel Vandoorne will take on a new challenge in Formula E as he moves to Maserati for the 2024/25 season.
The Belgian made his debut in the all-electric series in the 2018/19 season with HWA Racelab. Scoring his first podium with third in Rome, Vandoorne struggled down in 16th with 35 points, as he suffered five retirements in the opening eight races.
Vandoorne stayed with the team when they rebranded to Mercedes in 2019/20 and results immediately picked up. Grabbing a double podium in Diriyah with two third-place finishes and his maiden win at the season finale in Berlin, the 32-year-old finished runner-up to Antonio Felix da Costa.
Inconsistencies let the Belgian down in Season Seven as he finished ninth in the standings, but turned things around significantly the following year. While he only won one race in Monaco, Vandoorne scored eight podiums and finished in the points in all but one race, with only two of his points finishes being outside the top five as he became the Formula E champion.
After winning the title with Mercedes, Vandoorne moved on to DS Penske for Season Nine, where things did not go as the Belgian may have expected.
Stoffel Vandoorne says staying with the Stellantis group was an ‘important’ reason for signing with Maserati
In his two seasons with the team, the 32-year-old could not reach the same heights as he did with Mercedes, as he could only manage 56 points in 2022/23 and finished down in 11th.
In Season 10, Vandoorne scored his first and only podium with DS Penske in Monaco, but only manage five more points from the year prior and 10th place in the standings.
After two disappointing seasons, the Belgian will move to Maserati for the 2024/25 season, who like DS Penske, are part of the Stellantis group.
According to Vandoorne via GPBlog, this was an ‘important’ reason for him signing with Maserati, as he also races to Stellantis brand Peugeot in the World Endurance Championship.
“An important reason for choosing Maserati was that I could stay with the same group; last year, I was with DS Penske, and now Maserati, and therefore remain within the Stellantis group,” he said.
“That was quite important for me, especially for my contract with Peugeot, which also belongs to the same group. This allows me to continue driving in both WEC and Formula E. And it’s a nice team.”
Can Stoffel Vandoorne perform at Maserati?
On paper, it seems like a backward step leaving DS Penske for Maserati, considering the former finished third in the Teams’ Championship in 2023/24 with 200 points, while the latter managed just 81 and finished eighth.
However, the bulk of the points came through Maximilian Gunther – who will replace Vandoorne at DS Penske next year – who grabbed a win and two podiums, while Jehan Daravula struggled as he could only manage eight points all year.
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Now, the Monegasque outfit have two former FE champions in their line-up in Vandoorne and Season Nine Jake Dennis, giving them a pairing that are more than capable of scoring regular points and fighting for wins.
While they may not have the tools to compete with the likes of Jaguar and Porsche, Maserati, as proven by Gunther last season, can be competitive. It is too early to make predictions with the new Gen3 Evo car coming to the series, but Vandoorne and Dennis will be ones to watch as they hope to bring their new team up the field.