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Remembering F1's most recent super-sub

When Fernando Alonso was injured in a horror crash during the 2016 Australian Grand Prix, his place was taken by reigning GP2 champion Stoffel Vandoorne in Bahrain. The Belgian's super-sub outing promised much, but it would ultimately stand as one of few highlights in a difficult F1 career

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.

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Author Luke Smith

Luke Smith is Autosport’s Formula 1 reporter. Luke has been working in F1 as a journalist since 2013, initially alongside a History degree at University College London. Luke served as the lead F1 writer at American broadcaster NBC Sports from 2013-17 before spending two years as the F1 Editor for Crash.net. Luke joined Autosport for the 2020 season.

Luke is also a contributor to The New York Times for its F1 special reports, and has previously worked with Al Jazeera and CNBC, as well as hosting FIA press conferences. Outside of F1, Luke is a fan of sports and music, with an ever-growing vinyl collection, and has being bitten by the running bug in recent years. He also runs a surprisingly popular blog reviewing the often-terrible media centre coffee from his F1 travels.