Fernando Alonso Always Got What he Wanted in McLaren: Stoffel Vandoorne Highlights the Pain of His F1 Career

Mercedes Formula E driver Stoffel Vandoorne has confessed that he does not miss Formula 1 at all. Speaking to Sport/Voetbalmagazine in an interview, he opened up on his F1 stint with McLaren. He also had plenty to say about former teammate Fernando Alonso, and not all of it was nice.

However, he was particularly scathing about the sport and dubbed it a ‘fake world’. He criticised the fact that everyone has to defend their own interests.

Stoffel Vandoorne raced in Formula 1 for McLaren for two years, in one of their toughest periods. At the time, the Belgian was partnered by two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

“I never had any problems with him, but he always got what he wanted”, Vandoorne revealed. “There were always two, three well-placed people in the team who made sure everything went the way Fernando wanted it to be.”

Admittedly, the Belgian driver was almost always outpaced by Fernando Alonso.

“The team gave him all the support and power,” Vandoorne explains. “Every driver would have benefited from extra equipment to perform better than his teammate.”

“On paper I never finished in front of Alonso, but of all the teammates I came closest, even just behind him. McLaren never told me not to finish in front of him, but they asked me in the race to let him pass. They almost always did that.”

Now, Stoffel Vandoorne is racing for Mercedes, in his second season in Formula E and their maiden season. This is the first time that the four German giants, Mercedes, Audi, BMW and Porsche are competing with each other. To make matters even better, at the recently concluded Ad-Diriyah ePrix, Vandoorne finished 2nd for Mercedes.

“Formula 1 remains the largest championship, Formula E is just below that”, the Belgian confessed. “It is one of the most competitive championships I have already competed in. Many drivers have experience in Formula 1, others have a track record with which they could enter F1.”

“It’s the future. That’s why you see more and more car manufacturers,”.

His teammate, Nyck de Vries can attest to Formula E’s rise in the motorsport ranks. This is because, de Vries is the reigning Formula 2 champion, but unlike his predecessors, who stepped into Formula One, the Dutch youngster hopped into a Formula E car