HAMBURG: Belgium’s Stoffel Vandoorne is to join Formula E after this year’s Formula One season with McLaren. The 26-year-old will join up with Britain’s Gary Paffett, the newly-crowned DTM champion, to race for the German HWA team in the series for electric-powered cars, which begins in December. “Super excited to join HWA in Formula E and start this new challenge together! And it’s straight to business! Testing starts tomorrow here in Valencia!” Vandoorne wrote on Instagram. Vandoorne is in his second season at McLaren after progressing through the team’s development ranks. He has partnered two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso, who is retiring from Formula One at the end of the season. For 2019, McLaren has engaged Carlo Sainz from Renault and British teenager Lando Norris, currently the team’s test driver. As in DTM, HWA will be in partnership in Formula E with Mercedes,which has now ended its engagement in the German touring car series to focus on the electric-powered racing format. On Sunday, Mercedes veteran Paffett, 37, clinched his second DTM title. — DPA
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