Formula 1: Stoffel Vandoorne set to leave McLaren after 2018

Stoffel Vandoorne is set to leave McLaren once the 2018 Formula 1 season reaches its conclusion, leaving an open seat at the Woking-based team.

Stoffel Vandoorne will not return to McLaren in the 2019 Formula 1 season, as he is set to leave the team once the final seven races of the 2018 season, his second season as a full-time driver, are in the books.

With two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso, the current teammate to the 26-year-old Belgian, having announced that he will be retiring once the 2018 season comes to an end, this means that the Woking-based team will be going with a completely overhauled driver lineup next year, which is what many people expected.

McLaren already signed current Renault Sport driver Carlos Sainz Jr., who is set to be replaced by current Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver Daniel Ricciardo next year, as Alonso’s replacement, and they did so nearly right after the 37-year-old Spaniard announced that the 2018 season will be his last season in Formula 1, so their completely overhauled driver lineup for next year may very well be known in the near future.

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With current Williams Martini Racing driver Lance Stroll likely headed to drive for Racing Point Force India next season, both current Force India drivers, Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon, have emerged as potential replacement candidates for Vandoorne, as has McLaren reserve driver Lando Norris.

Vandoorne test drove for McLaren in the 2014 and 2015 seasons, and he drove in one race, the Bahrain Grand Prix, in the 2016 season as Alonso’s replacement following Alonso’s massive crash the race before that, the Australian Grand Prix.

Vandoorne finished the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix in 10th place and scored one point as a result of it, caused him to finish 20th place finish in the driver standings ahead of two full-time drivers and the two part-time drivers of another car.

In the 2017 season, Vandoorne landed his first full-time ride in Formula 1 driving for McLaren. He competed in 19 of the season’s 20 races and earned three top 10 finishes, including two career-high seventh place finishes in the Singapore Grand Prix and the Malaysian Grand Prix. He finished in 16th in the driver standings with 15 points.

So far this season, Vandoorne has secured three top nine finishes, including a season-high eighth place finish in the Bahrain Grand Prix. He has earned eight points through the season’s first 14 races, but he has not finished in the top 10 nor scored any points in any of the last 10 races. He currently sits in 16th in the driver standings.

Which driver will replace Stoffel Vandoorne and become a teammate to Carlos Sainz Jr. at McLaren in the 2019 Formula 1 season? When will the team announce who Vandoorne’s replacement will be?