01-10-2017, 17:44
A star beginning to shine
There were some impressive performances in Malaysia - Verstappen's magnificent drive to victory, yet another stunning pole from Hamilton, some typically decisive overtaking and aggressive defence from Daniel Ricciardo on his way to third, and an assured debut from Pierre Gasly in the Toro Rosso - but one man in particular stood out.
Stoffel Vandoorne arrived in F1 this year touted as the next great talent, but he had a difficult first half of the season, lagging a long way behind double world champion team-mate Fernando Alonso, who is about as tough a partner as a rookie could ask for.
But McLaren always had faith in the Belgian's ability, the team worked hard with him behind the scenes, and in recent races he has begun to show his true potential. His performance in Malaysia was outstanding.
McLaren had some new aerodynamic parts, but there were only enough for one car, so they understandably went to Alonso. But it was Vandoorne who qualified the quicker - his 0.122secs margin put him seventh, higher than McLaren thought possible, and three places ahead of Alonso.
From there, Vandoorne made a strong start to run fifth on the first lap and despite the McLaren's lack of race pace - rooted in the inherent weakness of its Honda engine's hybrid system - he lost places only to Vettel and Force India's Sergio Perez.
Vandoorne is relaxed, approachable and friendly, but very much an undemonstrative, understated character, who is going about his first season with admirable modesty and a determination to keep his head down and just get on with it. But his delight and sense of achievement was clear after the race.
"It was an extremely satisfying race," he said. "To finish seventh on a circuit like this; we thought it was going to be a bit difficult. Start was amazing. We knew it would be difficult to keep the Force Indias and Williams behind but only Perez got ahead."
Alonso had a difficult race. He, too, made an initially strong start, but a clash between the two Williams cars at Turn Two delayed him and cost him a couple of places, and after that he spent much of the grand prix stuck behind Kevin Magnussen's more powerful Haas. Alonso eventually muscled his way past on lap 32, having been left distinctly under-impressed by the Dane's defensive driving tactics.
The McLaren team-mates were on off-set strategies - Vandoorne stopping early; Alonso relatively late - so it is hard to compare their races on a pure level. But Vandoorne was at least a match for the great man - and in the closing laps, with both in free air, was faster more often than not, despite much older tyres.
Alonso has yet to sign his new McLaren contract, but he is expected to do so in the gap between the Japanese and US Grand Prix later this month.
If Vandoorne can keep up this level of performance, McLaren will be challenging Red Bull next year in having arguably the strongest driver line-up on the grid.
https://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2017/10/w...s-is-down/
There were some impressive performances in Malaysia - Verstappen's magnificent drive to victory, yet another stunning pole from Hamilton, some typically decisive overtaking and aggressive defence from Daniel Ricciardo on his way to third, and an assured debut from Pierre Gasly in the Toro Rosso - but one man in particular stood out.
Stoffel Vandoorne arrived in F1 this year touted as the next great talent, but he had a difficult first half of the season, lagging a long way behind double world champion team-mate Fernando Alonso, who is about as tough a partner as a rookie could ask for.
But McLaren always had faith in the Belgian's ability, the team worked hard with him behind the scenes, and in recent races he has begun to show his true potential. His performance in Malaysia was outstanding.
McLaren had some new aerodynamic parts, but there were only enough for one car, so they understandably went to Alonso. But it was Vandoorne who qualified the quicker - his 0.122secs margin put him seventh, higher than McLaren thought possible, and three places ahead of Alonso.
From there, Vandoorne made a strong start to run fifth on the first lap and despite the McLaren's lack of race pace - rooted in the inherent weakness of its Honda engine's hybrid system - he lost places only to Vettel and Force India's Sergio Perez.
Vandoorne is relaxed, approachable and friendly, but very much an undemonstrative, understated character, who is going about his first season with admirable modesty and a determination to keep his head down and just get on with it. But his delight and sense of achievement was clear after the race.
"It was an extremely satisfying race," he said. "To finish seventh on a circuit like this; we thought it was going to be a bit difficult. Start was amazing. We knew it would be difficult to keep the Force Indias and Williams behind but only Perez got ahead."
Alonso had a difficult race. He, too, made an initially strong start, but a clash between the two Williams cars at Turn Two delayed him and cost him a couple of places, and after that he spent much of the grand prix stuck behind Kevin Magnussen's more powerful Haas. Alonso eventually muscled his way past on lap 32, having been left distinctly under-impressed by the Dane's defensive driving tactics.
The McLaren team-mates were on off-set strategies - Vandoorne stopping early; Alonso relatively late - so it is hard to compare their races on a pure level. But Vandoorne was at least a match for the great man - and in the closing laps, with both in free air, was faster more often than not, despite much older tyres.
Alonso has yet to sign his new McLaren contract, but he is expected to do so in the gap between the Japanese and US Grand Prix later this month.
If Vandoorne can keep up this level of performance, McLaren will be challenging Red Bull next year in having arguably the strongest driver line-up on the grid.
https://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2017/10/w...s-is-down/
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