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Stoffel Vandoorne is looking to score his first points of the season this weekend in Hungary, at a track he says he enjoys.
Vandoorne has had a troubled season so far, affected by his McLaren Honda’s bad reliability and poor pace. However even accounting for the poor reliability many expected after an extremely impressive junior career he would be more competitive compared to his highly esteemed teammate, Fernando Alonso. Up until last weekend he had been severely outperformed by the Spaniard, with almost every occasion going the spaniard’s way.
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However Vandoorne had his most impressive weekend in Silverstone to date, out qualifying Alonso on pure pace and having a good race where he would have scored his first point of the season had he not been outdone on strategy by the Williams of Felipe Massa.
Vandoorne said ahead of Hungary: “I really like the Hungaroring circuit – although it’s not the fastest in term of outright pace, its technical layout means it feels quick and requires 100% commitment and concentration all the way around the lap. There are a lot of quick changes of direction, and the twisty configuration means you have to have your line spot-on every time to get the best out of a lap. The layout combined with the high temperatures means it’s tough on the cars, and you need a strong and stable chassis to be able to get the nose in at the right time and allow you the best possible exit to get ready for the next corner. The straights are short, so it’s all about setting up the car with as much downforce as possible for the corners.”
He then went on to discuss his prior success at the Hungaroring, and hopes for the weekend: “I’ve won in Hungary before, in GP2, and I enjoy driving on this track. Although we’ve been a bit unlucky, I feel that my performances have been consistent and improving race-by-race. I’ve been working hard with the engineers and I feel confident in the car – my weekends are coming together better now in the first part of the season and as a team we are progressing every weekend. We have to be patient, keep working hard, and I hope to see the reward for our efforts paying off soon.”
Sam Gale
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
I. Hadjar
A. Antonelli
C. Leclerc
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Replies (1)
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Posts: 5,396
He will get his points this race, unless Kvyat crashes into him.