Stoffel Vandoorne (born 26 March 1992) is a Belgian professional racing driver who is currently competing for Mercedes in Formula E. He had previously competed in Formula One for McLaren. He is currently a test driver for the Mercedes team. Vandoorne currently resides in both Monte Carlo (Monaco) and Roeselare (Belgium).

Early life

Stoffel Vandoorne was born in Kortrijk. Vandoorne was introduced to motorsport at the age of six during a visit to the kart track of World Karts in Kortrijk in Flanders, Belgium, with his father. Vandoorne started karting after the owner of the track gave him a mini-kart.

Career

Karting

Initially, lack of funding restricted Vandoorne to race 3 to 4 races per year. By age 16 he was Belgian KF2 Champion. In 2009 he finished as runner-up in the CIK-FIA World Cup in the KF2 category. The same year he won the 'steering wheel' competition held by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium.