Vandoorne wants to compete for wins again: 'It's definitely not easy'

Stoffel Vandoorne doesn't beat around the bush. "It's definitely not easy," Vandoorne said during an exclusive interview with GPblog when commenting on his recent seasons. In those, he competed in the WEC for Peugeot - a team still building and, as a result, well behind the top manufacturers in this class - and in Formula E for DS Penske. With this team, Vandoorne mainly featured in the middle of the pack. This contrasts to having become Formula E world champion with Mercedes in 2022.

"You don't want to go to a race just to compete for points. That's definitely not easy. But it's motorsport, after all. You can't always be in the right place at the right time. I have to make do with that now. I'm trying to get the most out of it. Hopefully, everything will all fall together at some point, then fight for wins and the championship. That's a bit difficult at the moment, and we certainly haven't had good results in the last two years."

Vandoorne hopes for better times at Maserati. "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. 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."

Vandoorne admits: 'I hate it'

In terms of powertrain, Maserati cannot match rivals Porsche and Jaguar, but predictions can't be made these days as Formula E. With the current generation of cars, it is not always the fastest car that wins, but the driver who handles the available energy the best. This led to some crazy races last year, where drivers did not want to lead. This was compared to peloton-riding in cycling.

Earlier, Robin Frijns and Jean-Éric Vergne, and others, said that they did not like this way of racing at all. Vandoorne agrees with his colleagues: "I hate it. It's not really racing. It's not about being the fastest on the track. It's about being in the right position at the right time. You have to try to stay out of trouble. It's a strategic game."

"Of course, with the car, you can make a difference because if you are more efficient than the others, then that helps. It's a very bizarre way of racing. You can go from last to first, from first to last, and change positions 20 times during the race. It's very difficult for people to understand this."

'Formula E needs faster cars'

Formula E; you either hate it or you love it. There were already plenty of racing fans who disliked FE because the roar of the petrol engines was missing. Peloton racing probably didn't do the sport any favours either. "It's hard to say: I think there's a group of people who do like it a lot and there's a group who also like it less. I think some fans like it because there is a lot of action. But people within motorsport, who understand the sport, think it doesn't make sense. We will see how it evolves further. Next year, there will be some changes, and we will see how the races go," Vandoorne says.

In any case, there are still plenty of fans to be won for Formula E. Interest in the sport seems to have stabilised in recent years, but it does not always prove easy for organisers to find suitable race venues. Vandoorne finds it difficult to indicate what the sport needs to attract a bigger audience. Then he says, "I think first of all we need faster cars."

"The type of races we have now is not what drivers want. So with faster cars, I think people will start taking us more seriously. Because now people compare us to other categories, and the lap times are not that great. We need to have a car that the drivers really want to drive with and are really happy the moment they get out of the car."

Vandoorne sees similarities with Formula 1

Robin Frijns, already mentioned, previously said he was also happy when he raced in the WEC and could forget about Formula E for a while. Vandoorne doesn't want to go that far. "But there is a different mentality there. WEC is fun of course, it's a very different way of driving. More old school. It's racing as everyone knows it."

"Okay, Formula E is different, but in a way I also appreciate it. It's a professional championship. The way of working within Formula E is absolutely top-notch. The level of engineering is really Formula 1-level. I appreciate the way we work in Formula E. Okay, the cars might not be the nicest ones we race with. But to be successful in the championship, that's not easy."

Who knows, Maserati might be the team that gives Vandoorne the tools to be successful in Formula E. "The goal is to have a good season in Formula E. I think we have the best chance to do something nice there in the end. There are some changes for next year. I think people are capable of forming a very strong team. Whether we can win, I don't know. I think that might be a bit too difficult. If we can have a season where we score points consistently, with some highlights, then it will be a nice year."

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