'They've unlocked potential' - World champion makes McLaren turnaround claim after horror show

Stoffel Vandoorne has declared himself "not surprised" at McLaren's turnaround since he raced for the F1 team. 

The Season 8 Formula E world champion competed for McLaren across the 2017 and 2018 seasons alongside Fernando Alonso.

The two years were a disaster for the Woking-based team as it switched from a Honda power unit in 2017 to Renault the following year. 

Both seasons were littered with reliability failures for the British outfit, which suffered a total of 20 retirements between the two drivers, leading to Vandoorne scoring just 25 points across the two campaigns.

Vandoorne left the team at the end of 2018 to take up a career in FE and the World Endurance Championship, whilst McLaren has been on a journey of resurgence. 

After hitting rock-bottom at the beginning of 2023, it is now top of the F1 tree going into the upcoming campaign, following its 2024 constructors' title triumph. 

Vandoorne raced for McLaren when it was arguably at its lowest in the modern-era, and has not been surprised at how it has risen back to the top.

As pointed out by the Belgian in a RacingNews365 exclusive interview, simple changes of position within the team and a change of leadership have had an instrumental effect, with many of the personnel unchanged since he raced for them.

"I'm not surprised, in a way, because I know the people that were there at the time, they're still there right now," said Vandoorne. "And they're an incredibly competent group of people.

"With just a little bit of different positioning in the team, a different leadership, switching people up in their position and their responsibilities, they've managed to unlock that potential. 

"It's nice to see, and it's to be honest, it's where McLaren belongs and where they have been in the past."