Vandoorne confident he can get on Alonso's pace
Stoffel Vandoorne is confident he will be able to match McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso after having been overshadowed by the Spaniard so far this year.
The Belgian has lost out to Alonso in all five qualifying sessions, in part because he has had more technical issues and lost more track time.
He had a cleaner weekend in Spain, but after a solid Friday, he struggled for speed in qualifying.
He was left stranded in 19th in Q1 on a day when Alonso stunned the paddock by earning seventh.
"Today was a bit strange, I don't know exactly why," said Vandoorne. "Yesterday I was feeling very confident with the car, and very comfortable. I think we definitely made a step forward.
"I think tonight I will analyse with the team what didn't go 100 percent.
"Definitely we are more competitive, it just seems from my side I lost a bit of competitiveness compared to yesterday."
Vandoorne says there's no specific reason why he's found it hard to match his teammate.
"I don't really think it's a mystery. It's a combination of a few things, putting everything together at right time.
"Obviously the start of the season has been very tricky for my side, with quite a few problems.
"It's actually been the first weekend where I ran smoothly yesterday through practice one and practice two, where I felt very comfortable with the car, where we actually performed very well.
"But for some reason this morning was a bit more difficult, and we carried that through for qualifying.
"We just need to understand why, but I'm confident to get on top of the things, and once everything will fall together, then I'm sure we'll be able to progress."
Share Or Save This Story
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Aston Martin retains Stoffel Vandoorne as simulator, test and reserve driver for 2026
Stoffel Vandoorne to return to Peugeot in WEC 2026, replace Jean-Eric Vergne
Theo Pourchaire to replace Stoffel Vandoorne in Peugeot WEC Hypercar line-up
F1 2026 mid-season grades: McLaren starts on back foot but makes rapid progress
Could McLaren follow Red Bull’s path with its own F1 engine – and should it?
The subtle but significant changes McLaren will make for its 2027 F1 car
Dale Earnhardt's grandson Wyatt Miller flips wildly in crash, but drives away
Denny Hamlin breaks down pit struggles that cost No. 11 team
Shane van Gisbergen falls to Chase bubble but actually gains ground at Richmond
Austin Cindric: Richmond was the 'kick in the ass' we needed
Could McLaren follow Red Bull’s path with its own F1 engine – and should it?
Top 10 rookie seasons in F1
Why F1 shouldn’t be hiding its most interesting characters
100 not out: Alex Albon on Williams’s desire to atone for its 2026 struggles
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments