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McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne has expressed his disappointment with coming home twelfth at the Austrian Grand Prix, believing that his team's improved pace over the weekend could have led to points on Sunday afternoon.
Vandoorne and his team-mate Fernando Alonso lined up just outside the top ten on the grid for the race, thanks in part to a Honda engine upgrade, but only the Belgian would make it to the chequered flag as Alonso retired at the end of lap 1. He struggled to make progress around the power-dependent Red Bull Ring, however, and was forced to serve a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue flags whilst chasing Jolyon Palmer's eleventh-placed Renault.
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After this misfortune, Vandoorne said: "I'm actually a little bit disappointed with 12th - if you look at the pace we had throughout the race, I think points just might have been possible. And that's very encouraging. Our weekend has generally been quite positive - we had no problems, our pace has been reasonable, and I felt very comfortable with the car.
"Unfortunately, I was stuck behind some cars and it was impossible to overtake - but that's how it is for us at the moment. I got a penalty, but we had to try something, and I don't think I really lost a lot in terms of the overall result. It's a shame we didn't score points, but our pace all weekend has been a positive for the whole team."
Mason Hawker
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Replies (2)
Login to replyf1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
Seemed to lack race pace, needs points soon!
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Points were possible, yes, but Alonso got retired, and Vandoorne's penalty didnt help their case.