Stoffel Vandoorne says he was not expecting to make his second Q3 appearance of the season at Silverstone ahead of team mate Fernando Alonso.
Vandoorne finished qualifying with the ninth fastest time, but will start eighth on the grid following Valtteri Bottas’s five place grid drop.
“To take part in Q3 at Silverstone was a bit unexpected,” says Vandoorne. “But I’ve been working very well for the past couple of races, and we’ve clearly seen the improvements inside the team.
“In Azerbaijan, in Austria, and here at Silverstone this weekend, Fernando and I largely matched each other’s pace. It’s obviously a pretty good feeling to have made that extra step.”
After team mate Fernando Alonso took advantage of a drying track to set the quickest time at the end of Q1, Vandoorne says McLaren had been looking forward to changeable conditions in qualifying all season.
“We’d been hoping to get a rainy mixed-condition qualifying for a long time and I think we were pretty strong in these conditions all session long,” says Vandoorne. “Then, when the track got drier, we maximised every chance we got.
“As usual, it’s very close in the midfield pack, and we usually see that some of the others have got a little something extra for qualifying. But I think the mixed conditions really helped us today. Every time I was on track, I managed to bank a good lap-time, and I think ninth in Q3 was really the maximum we could do today.”
Rockie (@rockie)
15th July 2017, 16:45
Vandoorne the quiet star of qualifying!
Neil (@neilosjames)
15th July 2017, 17:07
Impressed with how he went today, especially in the damp conditions. Hopefully he’s finally starting to find his feet in F1 – definitely has the raw ability, just needs to get himself into a position where he can use it.
Ju88sy (@)
15th July 2017, 17:26
Yes, been waiting for Stoffel to show his pace in F1, did very well today.
KhanistanF1 (@khanistanf1)
15th July 2017, 17:14
Yes! Big Vandoorne fan so this a big one for me as a spectator, could be the signs of him settling down and finding his groove. Cannot to see him in the race
KhanistanF1 (@khanistanf1)
15th July 2017, 17:16
*Cannot wait
Hugh (@hugh11)
15th July 2017, 17:31
Here’s to hoping. He’s been unfortunate to have Alonso (arguably the quickest guy in the sport, undisputedly up there) as his team-mate, making it look like he’s done worse than he actually has. He’s bringing the McLaren home roughly where it’s expected to be, similarly to how people like Sainz and Grosjean (bar Austria) have been doing.
SpaFrancorchamps (@spafrancorchamps)
15th July 2017, 17:35
I still have faith in Vandoorne. Not a great season so far, but he’s got talent. He would have finished in the points in Austria, had Kvyat not ruined the start.
Chicane85 (@ramysennaf1)
16th July 2017, 5:09
what is honda doing, 2.8 sec off the pace??, what are they still doing in f1, what a trash of a season for a legendry team i can t even think of being such and having just low expectations as much as people are even thinking of it, what is honda still doing, 2.8 sec off the pace….we are talking abt mclaren here man…….i can t even explain how it feels
Sviatoslav (@)
16th July 2017, 7:09
He can be happy for now. But Alonso didn’t have to reach top 10. If Alonso does that, he will start on the same tyres — worn tyres — from the last position. That’s not good for the race.
I bet Alonso will overtake Vandoorne during the British GP.