McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne is heading into his home grand prix this weekend already on the back foot with a 35 place grid penalty due to changes to his new upgraded Honda engine. Starting at the back of the grid is tough enough as it is but at your very first home grand prix, it is certainly not the ideal way to get things going.
However, that said, Spa is a circuit where drivers can overtake, so hopefully the Belgian rookie will be able to make up some places throughout Sunday's race.
Here he speaks to the press about the coming weekend at the official FIA Press Conference….
There's no getting away from the fact that at the beginning of the season the match up with Fernando has been very much in his favour. But just lately you've started to turn it around. Can you tell us what steps you've made to even things up?Yeah, for us it's not been a great start to the season, especially with all the trackside problems we have. We missed quite a lot of track time, but lately everything has gone in a good direction. Felt more and more comfortable with the car, with the handling suiting a little bit better my style as well. The last races have been positive. I'm matching very close with Fernando in qualifying and in the races as well. I'm definitely sure that the second part of the season will go in a good direction again.
Well, congratulations on the contract renewal announced before your home GP. This season hasn't gone as you expected in any respect, so was there any doubt that you'd get another chance?
No, there never has been any doubt. The team has been really supportive in the difficult times. Obviously I've been with McLaren for the past couple of years as a young driver and then as a reserve driver, so they know my capabilities. They know the effort I'm putting in with the team and it's good to see that the team is 100 per cent behind me and I'm definitely looking forward to the future with them.
I would like to know if Fernando congratulated you, did he tell you anything and if you would like to have him as a team-mate next year ?
I haven't seen him yet. Is he here? Is he in Spa? OK, I'll probably see him later.
Would you like to have him as a team-mate next year
To be honest, it's not up to me to decide who is going to be my team-mate next year. So far we have had a very good relationship together. We have been working very well and it's up to the team to decide who it will be. We know that Fernando is out of contract at the end of this year, so he will make his own decision.
Stoffel, the Belgian Grand Prix for you is a real home race. Are you a little bit envious, jealous, that Max, as no Belgian countryman, causes a hype with an invasion of his Netherlands countrypeople, who will freak out this weekend?
First of all, I like the way how you got that question. I mean, I think we are in completely different situations. Max has been in Formula One for a while. He's had some success in his career already, while for me I've only been half a year in Formula One and we've barely been fighting for points. I'm pretty sure in the future that when we will be competitive and things start to turn around the Belgians will be a lot of fans here as well.
This week Formula One has announced an e-sports championship for F1. How do all feel about that being that you have all had a chance to play these games – Esteban we've watched you on social media putting some lap times down – to have this championship, to have some young people in an untapped market step in and be part of the F1 community?
Yeah I think it's a very good initiative. Myself, when I was younger, I was playing a lot of computer games, a lot of racing games and I think it is a great way to get involved into the sport, a great way to develop your skills as well, even though you are not having the exact sensations of being in the real car. I think it is still something very positive for the people who do not always have the possibility to go out there and do go-karts and be involved in the sport. It's a great way to do the sport.
For the start of the second half of the season, you've had four weeks off. What did the three of you get up to during that period of time and what proportion was training and what proportion was holiday?
It was good to get a bit of free time, especially after the last month before the summer break was very busy with three races, even some testing in between as well. So yeah, it was good to take a little bit of a break. I had a good time off with some friends and really not thinking about the racing, doing what I wanted to do, and then yeah, the last week before Spa I started back into the normal regime: normal training and prepare as usual for a grand prix week.
It's your first home grand prix. How do you feel knowing you'll have a grid penalty starting the weekend. And how confident are you starting the weekend with a new engine?
First of all I'm very happy, extremely happy to be in Spa for the first time as a Formula One driver. Looking forward to see all the fans, a lot of family, a lot of friends will be here, so definitely excited for that. And yeah, on the racing front, the penalties were kind-of inevitable with the issues we had earlier this season. Every new part we bring to the car now is giving us grid penalties. It's a shame to start the weekend like that but with the weather here there's maybe a lot of opportunities possible. So, we'll focus and try to make the best of it.
Stoffel, so it's your home race now, it's nothing new, you have a big media schedule. Isn't it sometimes too much? Are you too busy to be focussed on the weekend – is it not better to sometimes have a light schedule?
I think I shouldn't complain. It's part of the job to do a lot of marketing, sponsor events with the team – but generally it's very well organised. Obviously this is a special race for us. It's normal I have a bit more work to do with the partners, with the media. In the end it doesn't distract me. As soon as we get to the track on Thursday, it's back to our normal schedules and really focussing everything we can on the race weekend.
Could you be the future of Formula One?
Yeah, I think so! Hopefully one day we'll all fight it out in the front. It would be nice. As long as I'm winning.
