The revenge of the drivers who were ‘fired’ by F1 in 2018

Three years after F-1 ‘kicked’ them out of the circus this 2022 they took revenge with victories in three prestigious competitions. Marcus Ericsson took the Indianapolis 500, Brendon Hartley the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Stoffel Vandoorne became the new Formula E champion.

In the last F1 World Cup of 2018 for them all, Vandoorne scored 12 points with McLaren to finish 16th, just one place ahead of Ericsson (Sauber) who won 9 points and 4, to finish 1st -19, Hartley (Toro Rosso).

Since 2014 Stoffel Vandoorne, driver of McLaren orbit, is knocking on the door of F1 and in 2015 he became a reserve driver. For 2016 it was announced by McLaren again, but they kept their starting duo Alonso-Button and refused to give it to Renault who claimed it. He was exiled to Japan, in Super Formula, while waiting for his chance to come to Bahrain, when he covered the absence of Alonso after his accident in Melbourne. In his first Grand Prix, he overtook Button and even scored McLaren’s first points of 2016. In 2017 he was given a second wheel as Fernando Alonso’s teammate, but the year was dramatic due to Honda power unit failures and he didn’t do it. passed two seventh places. In 2018, with Renault as a motorist, McLaren did not settle and the hiring of the then promising Lando Norris as the third driver ended up expelling him from McLaren and therefore from F-1 to find a new life in Formula-E, from the proclaimed champion in 2022, and the WEC.

Marcus Ericson He made his F1 debut in 2014 with Caterham Racing behind the wheel of the worst car in the category. For 2015 he found refuge in Sauber for the 2015 season, a team where he would stay for four campaigns without notable results. Last year, F1 was a teammate of the promising Charles Leclerc who was making his F1 debut and wet his ears whenever he could. In 2019 he was ‘banished’ from the IndyCar Series. In 2020 the powerful Chip Ganassi Racing team hired his services for his third single-seater and in 2022 he became the unexpected winner of the legendary Indianapolis 500.

Brendon Hartley He started out under the Red Bull Junior Team program, but never made it past being a test or reserve driver and when the time came to give him a chance, they preferred Daniel Ricciardo. In 2014 he began a promising first stint in the WEC with the title of LMP1 world champion in 2015, a success he would renew in 2017, also scoring his first 24 Hours of Le Mans, all in a Porsche. With those two titles in his pocket at Red Bull they claimed him again to give him a seat at Toro Rosso replacing Pierre Gasly (who went to Japan for the last round of Super Formula) at the United States Grand Prix and finally took Daniil Kvyat’s place for the final three races of the season. Although he didn’t score, Red Bull changed him. But he always lost the game with his teammate Pierre Gasly, finished only three races in the points, and ended up on the street.

Back in endurance racing, he has been one of the protagonists of the WEC championship since 2019 as a member of Toyota Gazoo Racing. In 2020, he won his second 24 Hours of Le Mans with Buemi and Nakajima and in 2022 his third with Buemi and Hirakawa.