Last week it was announced that Paul di Resta would be on standby should
Lando Norris or
Carlos Sainz not be able to race for the
McLaren team. Team boss
Andreas Seidl now announces that
Stoffel Vandoorne will be the reserve driver.
Formula E
Because of his obligations in
Formula E, Vandoorne wasn't able to jump in the last two weekends in case a driver couldn't race. Vandoorne was actually the first choice to replace
Sergio Perez, who tested positive on corona prior to the British Grand Prix.
"At the moment we have an agreement with Mercedes and we can make use of their reserve drivers in case there is a need on our part", says team boss Andres Seidl to
Autosport.com.
Vandoorne available again
"What was special last weekend is that Stoffel Vandoorne simply wasn't available because he's racing in Formula E. But now that Stoffel is available again from Barcelona, he is our main guy", concludes Seidl.
Vandoorne drove two seasons for the McLaren team in 2017 and 2018 with
Fernando Alonso as teammate. In 2019, the two drivers were replaced by the current lineup of the team.