Stoffel Vandoorne enjoys 'beast of a car' in first IndyCar test: 'Above all, I was happy'

It took Arrow McLaren SP's last rookie IndyCar test driver Nico Hulkenberg just over a week to decide that the longtime Formula 1 driver's first day in an Indy car would very likely be his last. Stoffel Vandoorne, the 29-year-old Belgian driver and the latest to land an IndyCar driver evaluation day with AMSP, says he has far more to think about after spending Monday behind the wheel of Pato O'Ward's No. 5 Chevy at Sebring International Raceway.

Vandoorne, the Mercedes Formula E driver who finished second in the championship in 2020, also has 41 F1 races under his belt to go with a runner-up finish in this year's World Endurance Championship and an overall podium in the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans. And yet, back in September, Vandoorne wandered across the Atlantic and into the IndyCar paddock at Laguna Seca to network with as many team principals as possible in hopes of inquiring about yet another series to add to his resume. Given his F1 run with McLaren from 2016-18, he hit it off quickly with McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown and soon came to terms for an offseason test.

The driver, who's still under contract with Mercedes in Formula E for 2022 before the team pulls out of the championship, said it was still far too early to speculate where he might be driving in 2023, but one day in an IndyCar left him wanting more.

"It was a great experience. I definitely had a very fun day in the car," Vandoorne told IndyStar after finishing with the third-fastest lap during a four-car test that included his Formula E teammate Nyck de Vries (Meyer Shank Racing), Callum Ilott (Juncos Hollinger Racing) and Jack Aitken (Ed Carpenter Racing). "It's definitely a beast of a car to drive, and it's heavy on the steering. I was fighting with the wheel a lot through the corners, but above all, I was happy.

"I really had a positive impression of running these cars, and I felt comfortable run after run and was getting even more so as the day went on. We'll see what the future brings, but for sure I'm looking into IndyCar."

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In Nashville earlier this year during a news conference announcing McLaren Racing's intention to purchase a 75% majority stake in Arrow McLaren SP from Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson, Brown stated that AMSP intends to run a third full-time car in 2023. Following those announcements, the team has since clarified it is currently working on putting together a partial-season program in 2022 in order to ramp-up toward the expansion, acquire the additional crew and engineering staff and test potential drivers to fill that role moving forward.

The first of those drivers, Hulkenberg, ran parts of 10 seasons in F1 dating to 2020 and is currently a reserve driver for Aston Martin F1 for the season that comes to a close this next weekend. The 34-year-old German driver took part in a five-car private IndyCar test in October with AMSP, finishing with the slowest 'best' lap time of the day. Less than two weeks later, Hulkenberg tweeted that "for personal reasons," he had decided not to pursue any sort of IndyCar chapter with the team any further.

Though he doesn't offer the wide-open schedule to make running a partial-season IndyCar slate simple, Vandoorne's Formula E calendar would offer some legitimate windows to make a feeling-out period possible. Along with the St. Pete season-opener and the Indy 500 (both unlikely debuts), the Mercedes Formula E driver is off for four weeks between Formula E races in Indonesia (June 4) and Canada (July 2), which could make IndyCar's race at Road America  June 12 a potential option.

Though ovals may not make the most sense with which to make his debut, his schedule would allow him to run both in IndyCar's Iowa doubleheader, as well as at WWT Raceway. The Music City Grand Prix (Aug. 7), as well as races at Portland (Sept. 4) and Laguna Seca (Sept. 11) are also possible, with the Formula E season finale falling in mid-August.

"So far, I have no plans after that, so everything is wide-open from my side," he said. "In a way, that gives me a lot of opportunities in a lot of different racing series. I could continue in Formula E or probably have opportunities in endurance racing, as well as opportunities in IndyCar. I feel like I'm in a bit of a decision-making time in my career in terms of, which route do I want to take?"

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Vandoorne may need to wait and see how AMSP's second season running O'Ward and teammate Felix Rosenqvist goes, after the tandem put together very different campaigns in terms of results in 2021. While the 22-year-old Mexican driver produced three poles, two wins and a third-place finish in the title chase, Rosenqvist's rookie year with AMSP represented a step back after two seasons with Chip Ganassi Racing. The Swedish driver recorded just two top-10s and eight finishes outside the top-15.

With Vandoorne already well into the prime of his racing career, set to turn 30 in March, he said Monday he's not interested in taking on a new challenge where he wouldn't be set up to compete near the top from the outset.

"I want to fight at the front from the word 'go,' and for that, you need a good team around you," he said. "I think McLaren the last couple years (in IndyCar) have shown some great promise. For me, that's the main deciding factor about my future - what competitive package I can compete in.

"Plus, I don't just want to come over for one year and not do anything afterwards. I'd like to build a multi-year package."

Email IndyStar motor sports reporter Nathan Brown at nlbrown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @By_NathanBrown.