Vandoorne was introduced to motorsport at age six during a visit to the World Karts track in Kortrijk with his father; the track owner gave him a mini-kart. A lack of funding initially restricted him to three or four races per year. By age sixteen he was Belgian KF2 Champion, and in 2009 he finished runner-up in the CIK-FIA World Cup in KF2 and won the steering wheel competition held by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium, which carried prize money of 45,000 euros.
In 2010, Vandoorne joined the F4 Eurocup 1.6 series, winning it on his first attempt with six wins and three further podiums. He earned a place in the FIA Driver Academy. In 2011, racing in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 with KTR, he finished fifth overall, with one podium at the Hungaroring. He also participated in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, finishing third. In 2012, he joined Josef Kaufmann Racing for the Eurocup and won the championship by ten points after a tight battle with Daniil Kvyat, together winning eleven of the fourteen races. In 2013, Vandoorne raced in Formula Renault 3.5, replacing 2012 champion Robin Frijns at Fortec Motorsport. He finished runner-up to Kevin Magnussen with four wins and ten podiums, including a victory at Spa-Francorchamps.
In January 2014, Vandoorne joined the GP2 Series with ART Grand Prix. He won the feature race at Bahrain on his first start, took four consecutive pole positions, added wins at the Hungaroring, Monza, and Yas Marina, and finished runner-up to 2014 champion Jolyon Palmer. In 2015, Vandoorne reunited with ART and won the championship with seven victories and 16 podiums from 21 starts, taking the title in Sochi by 108 points over nearest rival Alexander Rossi. He holds the GP2 all-time records for most wins, most feature race wins, most pole positions, most consecutive pole positions, most podiums, and most points.
In 2016, Vandoorne raced a Honda in Super Formula for Dandelion Racing, finishing fourth overall — the highest among Honda engine users — with two wins and one pole position at Fuji Speedway in wet conditions.
In February 2013, Vandoorne joined McLaren's Young Driver Programme, introduced to the team via Alex Wurz. In January 2014, he was announced as a third driver.
At the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix, Vandoorne substituted for an injured Fernando Alonso and finished tenth after qualifying twelfth ahead of teammate Jenson Button, becoming the first reserve driver to score points on debut since Sebastian Vettel at the 2007 United States Grand Prix. For the 2017 season, Vandoorne replaced Button as Alonso's full-time partner. With the uncompetitive McLaren, he accumulated 13 points to Alonso's 17 across 20 races, with one DNS and five DNFs, managing top-ten finishes in Hungary, Malaysia, and Singapore. He was retained for 2018.
In the 2018 McLaren–Renault partnership, Vandoorne had three points finishes in the first four races but struggled thereafter, ending the season in 16th place. He was released at the end of 2018. Vandoorne subsequently served as McLaren's simulator driver in 2020 and as a reserve driver through 2022.
Vandoorne was Mercedes' simulator driver in 2019 and was listed as a reserve driver in 2020, though he was not chosen to replace Hamilton at the Sakhir Grand Prix when Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19. As part of an agreement between Mercedes and partner teams, Vandoorne was also made available as reserve driver for Racing Point in 2020 and McLaren from 2020 to 2022. He drove for Mercedes at the 2020 Abu Dhabi Young Drivers Test alongside Formula E teammate Nyck de Vries.
From 2023, Vandoorne served as reserve and simulator driver for Aston Martin, sharing duties with Felipe Drugovich. He drove the AMR23 during a tyre test at Spa-Francorchamps in 2023, the AMR24 in the same venue in 2024, and took part in the Yas Marina end-of-season test in 2025 evaluating Pirelli tyres for 2026.
Vandoorne joined HWA Racelab for the 2018–19 Formula E season alongside Gary Paffett, making his debut three weeks after leaving Formula One. He achieved his first Formula E pole position at the 2019 Hong Kong ePrix in wet conditions but retired with a driveshaft issue. He took his first podium at the 2019 Rome ePrix, finishing the season sixteenth with 35 points.
In 2019–20, Vandoorne drove for Mercedes-EQ alongside Nyck de Vries. He took two consecutive podiums in the opening two races. After the season was suspended due to COVID-19, he finished in the points in four of six races at the Berlin finale, including his maiden Formula E victory in the season finale. He finished second in the standings, 71 points behind champion António Félix da Costa.
In 2020–21, Vandoorne won at the second Rome ePrix, took two third-place finishes at Valencia and Berlin, and finished ninth in the standings. He and de Vries combined to deliver Mercedes their first Formula E Teams' Championship. In 2021–22, their final season together, Vandoorne took the first pole position of the season at Diriyah. A dominant drive at Monaco brought his first victory of the season. Further podiums in Berlin, Jakarta, and Marrakesh, plus fourth and second at the New York City ePrix, put him at the top of the standings. At the London ePrix he scored fourth and fourth again. Closest rival Mitch Evans took victory in Saturday's Seoul race but could not close the gap; Vandoorne finished second on Sunday, clinching the drivers' and teams' championship in Mercedes' final Formula E season.
Vandoorne joined DS Penske for 2022–23 alongside champion Jean-Éric Vergne. The introduction of the Gen3 chassis was challenging; Vandoorne earned no podiums — a first for him in Formula E — with one pole in São Paulo, finishing eleventh in the standings. He and Vergne were retained for 2023–24 but Vandoorne departed after two winless seasons.
Vandoorne joined Maserati MSG Racing for 2024–25 alongside Jake Hughes. At season's end, both were replaced by Vergne and Nick Cassidy as the team rebranded to Citroën Racing. After failing to find a seat for 2025–26, Vandoorne joined Jaguar Racing as a reserve driver.
In April 2019, Vandoorne was announced for two WEC rounds with SMP Racing, driving the BR1 No.11 alongside Vitaly Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin. He drove the opening stint at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in snow, hail, and rain, finishing third in LMP1. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he also finished third. In 2022, he was set to test the Peugeot Hypercar at Bahrain but was diagnosed with appendicitis. In 2023, he replaced an injured Nico Müller at Peugeot Sport for the 6 Hours of Fuji, finishing seventh. In 2024, Vandoorne raced full-time with Peugeot alongside Müller and Loïc Duval in the Hypercar class. His contract was initially set to expire after the 6 Hours of Fuji in late 2025, but Peugeot renewed him for the 2026 season.
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