Vandoorne: “No doubt” about finishing the season with McLaren
Announced as under threat, Stoffel Vandoorne continues to reaffirm that there is no doubt he will finish the season with his current team, McLaren.
If there is likely to be a big loser in the transfer market, it might be Stoffel Vandoorne. Naturally somewhat reserved, the Belgian also suffers from the competition with his prestigious teammate, Fernando Alonso.
The problem for him is that he is neither supported by a major manufacturer nor by generous sponsors capable of attracting teams in search of fresh money. Therefore, he is betting everything on his on-track performances: « On my side, I think I did not arrive in F1 under the best circumstances. Given the situation the team was in, during the first year, we were not able to prepare for a weekend normally. In all these circumstances, I was one of Fernando’s closest teammates. In a situation where we would be much more competitive, if we could focus on the weekend and the race, I think I could be much closer and fight more with him. »
He slips in that the soon-to-be F1 retiree has much more experience than him and he adds, with a smile on the corner of his lips, that he especially has much more experience with bad cars.
As he approaches his home race, he is even more in the spotlight since some believe that it is simply his last Grand Prix in the discipline and that he could be replaced as early as Monza by Esteban Ocon, who was ousted from Force India by the arrival of Lance Stroll. However, when your humble reporter asks him in the paddock if he is certain to finish the season with McLaren, his reply is swift, looking me straight in the eye: « No doubt. »
In a rapidly changing context, we should not delay in seeing if he is right to be so confident.
From our special correspondent in Spa-Francorchamps
