Stoffel Vandoorne resigned to more power unit grid penalties
Stoffel Vandoorne has accepted that it’s inevitable that McLaren Honda will receive further grid penalties on a regular basis between now and the end of the season.
The Belgian picked up his first penalties in Russia as he used the fifth examples of some power unit elements, and he then took more in Spain when he had qualified 19th and had little to lose by changing his Control Electronics and Energy Store before the start, thus dropping to 20th.
Even if Honda improves reliability, Vandoorne faces another 15 races knowing that any changes from now on will generate more penalties. Drivers are no longer allowed to stockpile items with multiple changes on one weekend.
“That’s how it is unfortunately at the moment. There’s nothing we can change about that,” he said. “I think ever since the start of the season it was only a matter of time. We had our first penalties in Russia, and we knew that it was going to happen one day anyway. From our side what is the most important thing is that if we bring new parts, we see more competitiveness. That’s what is more important to us now.”
On two occasions this year, one of the McLarens has failed to start, and Vandoorne admits that the season has been harder than anticipated.
“I don’t think anyone expected it to be that difficult. We’ve seen the partnership between McLaren and Honda over the first two years, we’ve seen quite a bit of progress during those two years, and come the third year, everyone expected to have another step forward. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been the case. It’s not what we expected, that’s for sure.
“The results are definitely not what we want. As racing drivers we’re always competitive and you want to be fighting at the front. We knew from testing that the situation was going to be difficult. I’m keeping my head down, working with the team at the factory, trying to push in every area possible to make the car better, develop it in the right areas. I’m confident that one day, we will have a strong package. It’s just a matter of time.”
Vandoorne played down the fact that it hasn’t been easy for him to showcase his talent: “I’m not too worried, to be honest. I’m very confident in my abilities, and I know when everything will fall together more or less, then there won’t be any issues. We’ve just got to make sure everything runs smoothly, and then we’ll see.”
