Stoffel Vandoorne will carry out Formula 1 simulator duties for Mercedes, in conjunction with his Formula E duties with HWA.
Vandoorne has raced for McLaren across the past two seasons but was axed by the team as it opted to recruit Carlos Sainz Jr. to partner protégé Lando Norris.
Vandoorne has instead committed to the new-for-2018/19 HWA operation in Formula E, with the squad – previously successful in DTM – holding strong Mercedes ties.
“I will be involved with them,” said Vandoorne of Mercedes. “I’ll be doing the simulator work for them in the Formula 1 team, with Mercedes.
“That’s an exciting part for me as well to still be involved in the F1 world and to be with the World Champions as well.
“For me it will be a very interesting move as well. I’m sure I can bring them a lot of fresh ideas but also for me to see the differences there are because I’ve only worked with McLaren in Formula 1.
“So it’s exciting for me as well to kind of have a bit of a fresh environment.”
Vandoorne reckons that retaining ties with a Formula 1 team could prove beneficial in the long run.
“It’s definitely good to keep involved in the world because you never know what happens in the future,” he said.
“I think to be involved with Mercedes and to perform the work for them it’s good that they will know exactly what I’m capable of doing and we don’t know what the driver market is going to do in the future.
“It was a bit crazy this season and who knows what it’ll be next season. It’s hard to tell. So it’s good to be involved and to be prepared for anything that comes up.”
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