SAP SE has announced Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team Official Driver Stoffel Vandoorne as its latest brand ambassador.
This follows an electrifying start to the new season of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship in Saudi Arabia on November 22 and 23, 2019. Achieving two podium finishes in the first two races, the experienced Belgian driver is one of the two drivers for the Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team, of which SAP is the Official Business Performance Partner. Vandoorne benefits from innovative solutions based on SAP technology, which is helping the team to operate at the highest level of performance.
“As I’m embarking on my second season in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, I’m excited to be partnering with SAP as a brand ambassador,” said Vandoorne. “SAP has a long history of sponsoring motorsports, and its commitment to Formula E is the next logical step for such an innovative and future-oriented company. I look forward to working with them on their technology solutions for the team and support them with my expertise.”
The partnership with Vandoorne reinforces SAP’s commitment to the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. In May 2018, SAP announced a multiyear agreement with Mercedes-Benz to become the Official Business Performance Partner of the Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team. The goal is to drive the co-innovation of new technology by helping the team analyze large volumes of data and monitor overall performance. With the start of the 2019–20 season, this technology is now being put into practice.
“We are proud to welcome Stoffel Vandoorne as our new brand ambassador,” said Lars Lamadé, head, Sponsorships for Europe and Asia, SAP. “Throughout his remarkable career, Stoffel has proven time and again that he shares the same values as we do: striving for success by going the extra mile and always being willing to adapt to take on new challenges.”
Long-Standing Career in Motorsports
Before entering the ABB FIA Formula E Championship in 2018, Vandoorne had already made a name for himself with an impressive motorsport career. Having raced since the age of six, Vandoorne was brought onto the McLaren Young Driver Programme in 2013 before he was announced as McLaren Mercedes’ official reserve driver in 2014. Beside his Formula One role, he was also racing in the GP2 Series for the French squad ART Grand Prix. A year later, Vandoorne stepped in as a replacement for the injured two-time world champion Fernando Alonso to make his Formula One debut in the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix. He finished in the points on his very first outing and went on to race in two full seasons in Formula One for the McLaren team in 2017 and 2018.
In 2018, Vandoorne joined the all-electric street racing series ahead of Season 5 as a driver for new entrant and Mercedes-Benz affiliate team, HWA Racelab. Stoffel claimed his first podium finish in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship at the Rome E-Prix in 2019. With HWA Racelab’s transition to a full Mercedes-Benz works team, Stoffel Vandoorne is all set to open the next chapter of his motorsport story.
