McLaren Honda driver Stoffel Vandoorne set the 17th-fastest time in Q1 at the Sochi Autodrom on Saturday afternoon, but will unfortunately start Sunday afternoon's race from the back of the grid.
This is due to the fact that he incurred a 15-place grid penalty for exceeding the maximum number of annually permitted power unit components during Friday's free practice session.
He will start 20th and last.
“After receiving the grid penalty yesterday for changing power unit components, we chose to direct our focus more towards tomorrow's race,” the young rookie explained. “We knew we'd more or less be starting from the back, so our main aim will be to try and get the most out of tomorrow's race.”
“Although we know it's going to be difficult for us to overtake around here, I still think that a lot of things can happen over a race distance. Even if it turns out to be a one-stop race, it'll be a long afternoon – and, hopefully, there'll be some incidents or a Safety Car, which could create some scenarios that might play into our hands.”
“We expected to have another difficult weekend, but I'm hoping for a better day and the opportunity to make something happen in the race.”
