Remembering F1's most recent super-sub

Formula 1 has a rich history of 'super-sub' drivers whose last-minute stand-ins displays paved the way for their careers in the sport.

Michael Schumacher's F1 career famously started with a late call-up to Jordan for the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix after Bertrand Gachot was incarcerated, while Sebastian Vettel's debut came as a stand-in for the injured Robert Kubica at Indianapolis in 2007.

But there have been very few super-subs in F1 recently. Through 2018 and '19, all 20 drivers competed in every single race. A handful of changes took place in 2017 as Antonio Giovinazzi, Pierre Gasly, Brendon Hartley, Jenson Button and, most surprising of all, Paul di Resta made stand-in appearances due to a mixture of injuries, calendar clashes and driver market changes. None recorded a finish any higher than P12.

For F1's most recent 'super-sub', we have to go back one more year to on this day in 2016 when the latest much-vaunted member of McLaren's junior programme got his first shot in F1 - and took full advantage of it.

Stoffel Vandoorne had been knocking on the door for an F1 seat for a number of years. He finished as runner-up to Kevin Magnussen in Formula Renault 3.5 in 2013 before moving across to GP2. He again took second in the championship, winning his debut race and comfortably finishing as the highest rookie, but was set the gauntlet of taking the title "like a boss" by then-McLaren racing director Eric Boullier if he wanted to stake a claim to an F1 seat.

Vandoorne did precisely that in 2015, sweeping to the title with seven wins and a record points haul. But with McLaren now boasting two world champions in its F1 line-up - Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button - there was little prospect of the Belgian getting a place on the grid for 2016. A posting to Japan for Super Formula followed, helping strengthen ties with engine partner Honda in the process.

But when Alonso was involved in one of the biggest crashes in recent F1 history at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, peaking at 305 km/h and recording a force of 46G, questions began to arise about his fitness for the second round two weeks later in Bahrain.

While Alonso was cleared by the medical staff in Australia after his crash, the Spaniard was found to still be carrying injuries - broken ribs and a small lung collapse - after a lengthy examination ahead of the Bahrain race weekend. The FIA medical staff duly declared Alonso unfit to race.

McLaren sprung into action and got Vandoorne ready to fly out to Bahrain from Japan at the last minute, pulling the plug on preparations for a Super Formula test. Vandoorne flew on the Thursday via Dubai so he could take part in opening practice, where he would get his first taste of the McLaren MP4-31.

"The boy did a good job today. He got it right, and I definitely didn't" Jenson Button on Stoffel Vandoorne

Vandoorne finished nine-tenths of a second off team-mate Button's time in FP1 before reducing the gap to 0.7s in FP2, placing 11th. An oil leak curtailed his running in final practice, but Vandoorne still had over a grand prix distance under his belt heading into qualifying.

Bahrain was the second and final race of F1's ill-fated elimination qualifying format, only turning up the heat in Vandoorne's baptism of fire. But he took it all in his stride. After trailing Button by half a second in Q1, Vandoorne made the most of the one timed lap most were able to manage under the clunky format before being eliminated, placing him P12 on the grid. Notably, he had out-qualified Button in P14, and was only three-tenths off eighth-placed Nico Hulkenberg who sat on the Q3 bubble.

"I can't really complain with how my qualifying went for a first time," Vandoorne said. "I didn't really know what to expect, but I had a good feeling from yesterday in FP2. I felt really confident in the car, and then this afternoon I think we more or less maximised our chances.

"I think to out-qualify Jenson was a little bit of a surprise maybe."

Button was accepting in his qualifying loss to Vandoorne: "He's done a good job. I haven't done a good job. I've always had competitive team-mates and there's always pressure, nothing's different. The boy did a good job today. He got it right, and I definitely didn't in Q2."

As it turned out, "the boy" would impress once again on race day.

Vandoorne struggled on the opening lap as he lost places to Button, Sergio Perez and Esteban Gutierrez as cars tangled ahead, but soon regained his cool and got into the rhythm of his debut grand prix. He was able to clear both Perez and Nico Hulkenberg after his first stop, and soon found himself with a decent gap to the lower-midfield runners.

Vandoorne was able to go on a late charge with a fresh set of tyres thanks to his three-stop strategy, easily picking off Marcus Ericsson's Sauber to move up into the points. He then began to bear down on Williams' Valtteri Bottas - whose race had been compromised by a Turn 1 clash with Lewis Hamilton and subsequent drive-through penalty - reducing the gap from 14 seconds to just three across the final stint.

Far from being overawed by the occasion of his grand prix debut, Vandoorne had come home with McLaren's first point of the season, after Button had retired early due to an ERS issue. Then-Autosport Grand Prix Editor Ben Anderson awarded Vandoorne a 9/10 score in his post-race driver ratings.

"This weekend was a big opportunity for me," Vandoorne said after the race. "I made the most of it, I showed what I'm capable of, and now I just need to wait and see what happens next.

"That's not for me to decide, so let's see what the future brings."

McLaren racing chief Boullier hailed Vandoorne's display as "brilliant", adding: "Now he's done this, obviously it's only going to be better.

"If he's racing again - which we don't wish - but if he had to then the team is now confident he can do the job." Vandoorne was on standby for the next race in China, but Alonso regained fitness to return to his seat.

Asked if Vandoorne's display had put McLaren under pressure to make an early call on its 2017 driver line-up, Boullier laughed before replying: "No pressure at all."

"His F1 career may not have panned out as his junior record would have lead us to expect, but Vandoorne can still be remembered as the last true 'super' F1 super-sub"

McLaren did not rush into any decision on the following year, waiting until the Italian Grand Prix at Monza to announce Vandoorne would be stepping up to a full-time seat in place of Button for 2017. Just for good measure, Vandoorne capped off an impressive year by finishing fourth in Super Formula, scoring two wins.

But as we now know, Vandoorne's F1 career did not continue on the trajectory that had built up to his full-time appointment. Both he and the team were hamstrung by Honda's struggles through 2017, limiting him to just 13 points and a best finish of P7 as the team slumped to second-last in the constructors' championship.

The 2018 season proved tougher still for Vandoorne. Although McLaren had found its feet after switching to Renault power, Vandoorne struggled for consistency. He recorded just four points finishes, three of which came in the opening four rounds, and was annihilated 21-0 by Alonso in qualifying. McLaren made the call to part ways with Vandoorne at the end of '18, paving the way for an all-new line-up of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr.

Vandoorne sought refuge with Mercedes, joining its nascent Formula E programme with HWA and taking up a reserve driver role for its F1 team, who he also supports through simulator work. His opening season yielded one pole and one podium, but he made a flying start to the 2019-20 campaign, now with the Silver Arrows works team up and running, with a brace of podiums in Diriyah. The quality displayed through so much of Vandoorne's early career is still there.

His F1 career may not have panned out as his junior record would have lead us to expect, but Vandoorne can still be remembered as the last true 'super' F1 super-sub. His Bahrain heroics would have only added to McLaren's certainty he was the right man for 2017.

And in another timeline, without that ill-fated engine design change, perhaps history would have turned out very differently for both parties.