A Belgian Formula E world champion
With a podium finish in the last Grand Prix of the season in Seoul, Stoffel Vandoorne was crowned World Champion for the first time in his career at the wheel of a single-seat electric car.
At the age of 30, Stoffel Vandoorne won his first world title in the fastest growing category of motor racing, that of single-seaters powered exclusively by electric engines.
This discipline, regulated by the International Automobile Federation (FIA), was launched in 2014 and allows the various engine manufacturers to develop increasingly efficient electric machines, some of whose advances are sometimes adapted to passenger vehicles.
Sixteen rounds were on the calendar for this eighth season of Formula E (FE). The Belgian showed great consistency in each race at the wheel of his Mercedes EQ. The German team also won the manufacturers' world title.
The Belgian driver finished second in the final round of the world championship on the Seoul circuit in South Korea. This result was enough to give him a comfortable 30-point lead over the runner-up, New Zealander Mitch Evans in a Jaguar.
The Kortrijk-based rider, who started karting competitions at the age of 6, has just completed the best in a list of achievements that includes the Formula 4 world title in 2010 and the GP2 title in 2015, as well as a few Formula 1 races, with a wonderful second place at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2016.
And what will he do in the future? The defence of his FE title, American IndyCar Series or the highly prized Formula 1. Whatever his choice, let's hope for more great victories in the future.