Vandoorne Not Expecting “Big Surprises” in Peugeot Debut

Peugeot reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne is not expecting “any big surprises” as he steps into the French manufacturer’s Hypercar lineup for the 6 Hours of Fuji despite limited prior mileage in the 9X8.

The 2021-22 Formula E champion is making his first sports car race appearance in almost a year this weekend, substituting for the injured Nico Mueller in the No. 94 car.

Vandoorne has only completed one substantial track test in the Peugeot at Aragon in March, but used a simulator session last week to get re-acquainted with the controls.

“I’ve been testing the car a little while ago,” he said. “I did a rollout as well, but not a proper [test].

“You always want more mileage. But I’m just glad to get on with it.

“I don’t think there will be any big surprises. I’ll need to get accustomed to the car again in the beginning, but I’m lucky that I’ve already driven the car and know what to expect.

“So I don’t expect any big issues on that side. I’m more focusing on making sure that I do all the procedures correctly and don’t do any silly mistakes.

“The easiest thing to do when you get thrown in is to make silly mistakes. That’s what I’ll try and avoid this weekend.”

Vandoorne added that it was worth jumping in the Stellantis simulator to get a “refresher” on the 9X8 before heading to Fuji.

Sunday’s six-hour contest will mark his first WEC appearance since he finished second in the LMP2 standings driving for JOTA in 2021, while his last top-category outing came in 2019 with the SMP Racing LMP1 team.

“I’ve been in the sim last week before coming here, which was very valuable,” he said.

“Especially to just get back into the steering wheel, buttons and procedures that we’re going through. The main switch changes that will be expected from me during the race.

“I’m switching between quite a lot of cars lately. I’ve been in Formula E and in the Aston Martin [Formula 1], and now with Peugeot.

“Every team has a little bit of a different layout with the buttons and a different way of how to operate it.

“In general, they all have the same meaning which makes it a lot easier to get used to. To have a little refresher in the sim before coming here was good.”

Vandoorne is slotting into Peugeot’s race lineup at a time when the manufacturer is on an upward trajectory in Hypercar after it led part of the race at Le Mans and claimed its first WEC podium at the 6 Hours of Monza.

“It’s great to see,” he said. “I’ve been following very close with the team, the progress they’ve been making over the last couple of races.

“They managed to get their first podium at Monza, last time out.

“I don’t know what we can expect this weekend. We’ll see what happens with the weather. That’s going to be a bit of a question mark, but it’s great to see the progress.

“We just need to stay humble and have a clean race.”

Vandoorne Hopes FE, WEC Clash Can be Resolved

Vandoorne’s racing program this year has focused on Formula E, including the most recent season with DS Penske, although he is also keen to do more sports car racing.

However, a date clash between the electric open-wheel series and the WEC round at Spa-Francorchamps next year would impact his ability to do both on a full-time basis.

There were no clashes between the two FIA world championships this year, enabling the likes of Sebastien Buemi and Jean-Eric Vergne to complete both campaigns, although there was an overlap between the Jakarta E-Prix and the Le Mans test day in June.

When asked if he has a preference to do Formula E or WEC, Vandoorne said: “Preference? No. I want to do both.

“It’s not only an issue for me, if I were to do both. It’s a problem for a lot of the guys in this paddock who do Formula E and WEC as well.

“Hopefully there will be talks between both championships and a solution will be found to try and separate them.”