Vandoorne: "You do not see behind the scenes, all politics"

From Saturday at the end of the qualifications, Stoffel Vandoorne confided some relief to seeing his adventure in Formula 1 with McLaren terminate. Beaten at all qualifying sessions by Fernando Alonso (21-0) in 2018, the Belgian played Sunday his last Grand Prix with the team of Woking. A great race, finished off points in 14th place but marked by great fights on the track, especially against Esteban Ocon and Romain Grosjean.

Confident to be "have fun" during this last race, Vandoorne will now be able to turn the page. "I'm happy to have been able to fight to the end", he says in remarks reported by La Dernière Heure. "There were some great struggles with Esteban and Romain, whom I tried to resist, especially to help Fernando, but my tires were really worn out, and we know that our car is not at the same level. Force India or Haas. "

"We could not clearly play the points [dimanche]. But I gave everything and I leave happy with me. Now I'm going to relax for a few days, clear my head and switch to electric mode. "

From December 15, Vandoorne will indeed embark on a new discipline by participating in his first E-Prix in Formula E, with HWA, subsidiary of Mercedes. A new program that will also allow him to keep a foothold in F1 since he will have to work for the German manufacturer in the Brackley simulator.

Vandoorne deplores lack of confidence

F1, the 2015 GP2 Champion hopes to come back someday, maliciously reminding that "life sometimes surprises us". Especially if the opportunity arises, a feeling of revenge will certainly animate, as the record of his first pbadage is mixed. Impressive in terms of promotion, Vandoorne had been just as much during his first Grand Prix in the category queen, in 2016. Replacing Fernando Alonso at short notice in Bahrain, he had hung the point of tenth place at the wheel of a McLaren clearly suffering from being powered by a Honda block not level.

Holder in 2017 and 2018 to succeed Jenson Buttonhe had more disappointments than satisfactions. His best result will remain in seventh place, picked up in Singapore and Malaysia last year. Without giving in to bitterness, however, the Belgian makes it clear that the hidden face of the iceberg played a preponderant role, before highlighting his biggest regret: the lack of confidence of his team.

"You do not see everything going on behind the scenes, all the politics"he warns. "I can not say everything, but you can imagine some things, I personally have no regrets, I did my job as best as I could, which I may have missed most in some It's not always easy to perform and give the best of yourself when you know that the team is negotiating with other drivers at the same time. I did not give up and I finished my season on some good races. "