Vandoorne's pre-Formula E career included GP2 championship success in dominant fashion — he won the 2015 title with a record seven wins and sixteen podiums from 21 starts — and two seasons in Formula One with McLaren from 2017 to 2018. He was dropped by McLaren at the end of 2018 and moved into Formula E just three weeks after his final F1 race, joining HWA Racelab for the 2018–19 season.
Vandoorne joined HWA alongside Gary Paffett for the team's inaugural Formula E campaign. His debut season was modest, highlighted by a maiden Formula E pole position in wet qualifying conditions at the Hong Kong ePrix. He retired from that race with a driveshaft failure but claimed his first podium with third place in Rome. He finished 16th in the championship with 35 points.
Vandoorne moved to Mercedes-EQ for their inaugural Formula E season, partnering 2019 Formula 2 champion Nyck de Vries. He took consecutive podiums in the first two races. After the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it resumed with six races in Berlin. Vandoorne won the final race of the season finale, though ended up 71 points behind champion António Félix da Costa in second place overall.
Vandoorne remained with Mercedes-EQ alongside de Vries for a second season. He won the second race at the Rome ePrix and added third places in Valencia and Berlin. De Vries took the drivers' title while Vandoorne and de Vries together delivered the teams' championship to Mercedes.
The 2021–22 season was Mercedes-EQ's final year in Formula E before their factory withdrawal. Vandoorne took the first pole position of the season in Diriyah but finished second after missing the attack mode activation point. He returned to the podium in Rome, converting a pole position into third place. Monaco brought his first victory of the season as he dominated the second half of the race. Third places in both Berlin races followed, then a fourth and second in New York City put him at the top of the championship standings.
At the penultimate London event, Vandoorne scored fourth and second again. Closest rival Mitch Evans experienced a technical failure, pushing Vandoorne 36 points clear heading into the Seoul finale. Evans won the Saturday race but was unable to close the gap sufficiently; on Sunday, Vandoorne finished second to clinch the title and bring double championships to the departing Mercedes outfit.
Vandoorne joined the newly formed DS Penske team for 2022–23 alongside Jean-Éric Vergne. The introduction of the Formula E Gen3 chassis proved challenging for the team; Vandoorne went the entire season without a podium, a first in his Formula E career, and finished eleventh in the standings, 51 points behind Vergne. He was retained for 2023–24 but was unable to defend his title and left after two winless seasons.
Vandoorne switched to Maserati MSG Racing for the 2024–25 season alongside Jake Hughes. At the season's end, both drivers were replaced as the team rebranded to Citroën Racing, with Jean-Éric Vergne and Nick Cassidy taking over.
Vandoorne's 2021–22 title run marked one of Formula E's most methodical championship campaigns — built on eight podiums, a single victory, and capitalising on rivals' misfortunes and retirements at key moments. His five-season arc from an uncertain post-F1 career entry into a championship victory with one of the sport's most prominent factory entrants made him a benchmark for the kind of sustained consistency Formula E rewards at its highest level.