Vandoorne eager to follow Verstappen’s example: This is the GT race the ex-F1 driver wants to compete in

In an exclusive interview with GPblog, the Belgian pinpointed the 24 Hours of Spa as his dream target “I think Spa, the 24 hours. At some point I’d like to do that. Bathurst is beautiful, the Nürburgring with the Nordschleife looks great.”

Currently racing full-time for Peugeot Sport in the FIA World Endurance Championship, Vandoorne also serves as a reserve driver for Jaguar TCS Racing. However, his packed schedule has made pursuing additional racing opportunities a challenge. "There have always been clashes in recent years. So it’s always been difficult. And look, we can’t do everything either. We have to stay a bit selective. And you also want to do it under the right conditions,” Vandoorne explains.

Despite those constraints, the former Formula 1 driver remains confident he will eventually make the switch. “I think it will happen, I just don’t know when yet.”

In any case, Vandoorne believes that, thanks to Verstappen, endurance racing is reaching a much wider audience.“In the last few years, Formula 1 drivers and drivers in general weren’t really allowed to do many other things.”

In any case, Vandoorne has another class on his wish list: “I’ve thought about IMSA before. I think that’s a championship I’d like to do in the future. Maybe a little later in my career, to possibly do WEC and IMSA then. Now I have the chance to do Formula E and WEC. I want to maximize that.”

Vandoorne also serves as a test and reserve driver for Aston Martin F1 Team, meaning he regularly switches between different types of machinery. While that might appear challenging from the outside, the Belgian insists it is far from a problem. “Look, Formula E is a very professional championship and is technically very important.”

“A lot of the things we do in Formula E, in terms of systems and so on, we benefit from using in WEC in the end. So I think it’s actually quite good to combine both championships,” Vandoorne concluded.

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