Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, Spa-Francorchamps, 2018

Vandoorne not surprised to be last after “so many problems”

2018 Belgian Grand Prix

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Stoffel Vandoorne said he wasn’t surprised at McLaren’s performance after being slowest in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.

He had also finished at the bottom of all three practice sessions ahead of qualifying.

“I think no real surprises from the qualifying,” said Vandoorne. “We knew it was going to be difficult. We never really had one clean session this weekend without problems. I don’t think it’s a huge surprise to be out in Q1.”

A high-speed spin in final practice cost Vandoorne the chance to do a qualifying simulation run. But he doubts he would have done significantly better anyway.

“I don’t think there would have been a huge miracle. We tried to play every card today with a bit of slipstreaming as well. We didn’t really progress any more. I don’t think it would have made a huge difference.”

“I think just the general performance explains pretty much everything,” he added. “We’ve been last in almost every sessions. We’ve had so many problems this weekend.”

Vandoorne feels he can’t do much more to show he deserves to continue in F1 given the equipment he’s got.

“I think I’ve proven in the past that I can win championships,” he said. “I’ve been closer than ever to Fernando Alonso. There’s nothing much more I can do.”

“It’s [my] home grand prix and it’s a real shame that we don’t have better machinery to really put on a good show and give [the fans] a good result,” he added.

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13 comments on “Vandoorne not surprised to be last after “so many problems””

  1. A very mature and measured response from Stoffel. No one would criticize him if he dished out some harsh words, but instead he speaks calmer than someone who just missed the cut for Q1.

  2. Once again McLaren managers are destroying the career of a young driver who deserves his seat in any Formula 1 team.

  3. Lando Norris must be really tempted to wait a little longer before signing with this team.
    They are nowhere.
    If Alonso could only manage a 17th, there is nothing one could do.
    The car is a dog.

    1. I cant believe how bad McLaren are!!! I just read Renault have already told Danny Ric that they will not be fighting for wins or the championship next season, so if they wont be, then neither will McLaren! I would hate to be sitting in either car with no chance of winning.!!!

      1. Ricciardo signing for Renault doesn’t make any sense, especially given RB was OK with giving him a one year contract

  4. On top of the problems, he had to set his fast time on worn tires as he first had to give Alonso a tow before he got one back a lap later. In these circumstances, being 4 tenths slower than Alonso isn’t bad.

  5. He deserves another season at least. I would like him to be beating Fernando more often but he’s consistently close to one of the best ever with limited testing, receiving upgrades after Alonso and having some bad luck with car problems.
    He needs to improve but he’s shown what he’s capable of on merit.

  6. Must be frustrating for a guy with his talent.
    The only thing he deserves blame for is not leaving McLaren sooner.
    Just watch how Perez and Magnussen are doing. They were lucky to get away in time.

    1. There’s no talent.

  7. Amazing how luckless he’s been so far this season.

  8. It is a real shame that a driver of his talent is bogged down like that. If the rumors are true that he will join Sauber then it could be an opportunity for him to impress.

  9. I feel sorry for Stoffel, i genuinely think his confidence/belief is completely shot.

    He has been up against one of the toughest team mates he could have got in Alonso in 2 pretty terrible cars, and whilst on paper he has been comprehensively beaten over 1 and a half seasons, it hasn’t quite been by as much as it seemed, or there have often been reasons behind it when it has.

    A lot of a drivers career is all about perception, he was expected to come in and shine and to be honest, he hasn’t. This weekend, he was directly (albeit briefly) up against Lando Norris and comprehensibly outperformed. Again seemingly a car issue never gave a fair reflection, but from the outside it still doesn’t look good.

    It’s one thing to be off Alonso, but when doubts are out there already, then a kid rocks up and betters him (on paper) in a car he has barely driven, it just adds fuel to that negative perception that Stoffel just doesn’t quite have it. And it seems no matter what he does, luck and timing just won’t fall his way to show what he has.

    He’s a classy, talented driver who deserves better, but we’ve seen the same before with others, if someone else is there with a more positive perception that he could be a “star”, it’s not long before the last one becomes yesterdays man.

  10. Well, you have to remember that Norris wasn’t testing anything. He was just driving.
    Stoffel was working on the set up of his troublesome car for the remainder sessions.

    They were hardly doing the same thing at that session.

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