Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Australia
Breaking news

Vandoorne: Mercedes FE test "very important" for future

HWA's Stoffel Vandoorne says his recent test for the Mercedes ABB FIA Formula E squad is "very important" for his future.

Stoffel Vandoorne, HWA Racelab

Stoffel Vandoorne, HWA Racelab

Joe Portlock / Motorsport Images

The HWA operation will be taken over by Mercedes at the end of the 2018/19 season as the manufacturer prepares for its FE debut in season six.

Vandoorne's move to FE with HWA began with a call from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and the ex-McLaren Formula 1 driver - alongside Venturi's Edoardo Mortara - drove the season six Mercedes car for the first time at Varano.

Mercedes completed 527km of running during its three-day test at the end of March which used two of the 15 allocated days of testing that each manufacturer has ahead of the 2019/20 season.

When asked how important the test was for Vandoorne's long-term future in FE, he told Motorsport.com: "Of course, it's very important and very valuable for us because we've come into this year planning for the long term.

"We've had a lot of running to do and gone through a lot of learning curves. But everything we learn carries over to next year."

He added: "It's always exciting to take a new car to the track. Something that's been built from zero. For me to be the first driver to take it out on track was a nice touch to it as well.

"The goal of that test was mainly to do mileage, and that's something we successfully achieved.

"We managed a lot of laps, which was impressive for the first rollout of something that came from nothing, started from zero.

"It's a long road ahead. There's still a lot of work to do, but it was a positive start. And now the real development [of the season six car] will start from here."

Vandoorne's first season in FE has been impacted by reliability issues that HWA has encountered in its debut season.

A run of driveshaft problems required an update from HWA ahead of the Rome E-Prix and Vandoorne took his first podium finish moments before a suspected driveshaft failure occurred.

Asked about conclusions that could be drawn from the Belgian's test with Mercedes, Vandoorne said: "I'm obviously one of their drivers now, with HWA. Gary [Paffett] and Edo as well. We'll see whatever brings next year.

"It would be nice to be part of that team obviously. A manufacturer coming in is something important, we've seen the power they have when they come into a series like this. They can push the team a big step forward.

"From my side, I'm trying to do the best job I can. Trying to guide them in the best direction. We've had a steep learning curve at the start of this year, we know that there's still a lot more to come, a lot more issues to solve."

Vandoorne added that he was not aware of when Mercedes was likely to make a call on its driver line-up, although a team spokesperson previously told Motorsport.com that it would not make a decision "before the summer".

Edoardo Mortara, Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01

Edoardo Mortara, Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01

Photo by: Mercedes AMG

Be part of Motorsport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Virgin Formula E team signs multi-year Harley-Davidson deal
Next article Why Formula E's Gen2 cars are "too strong" now

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Australia