Stoffel Vandoorne was disappointed to leave the Circuit de Monaco without points after finishing down in fourteenth position, although he felt the Qualifying pace of the MCL33 was a step forward this weekend.
The McLaren F1 Team racer had qualified twelfth and had hoped to move forward in the race, but a slow pit stop lost him track position, and he found himself embroiled in a tight midfield scrap that unfortunately for the Belgian was not for a points-paying position.
Vandoorne gambled on a second pit stop under the late Virtual Safety Car period but found himself behind race leader Daniel Ricciardo at the restart, leaving him unable to take advantage of the fresh rubber.
“This was a disappointing race for me,” said Vandoorne. “The first stint was really tough – I’d started on the Ultrasoft and was looking to run longer than the Hypersoft runners, but I had too much degradation and couldn’t manage it. Then I lost a lot of time at my first pit-stop, and that also lost me track position.
“My final stint – on the Hypersoft – was a bit quicker, and I could take the fight to the cars in front, but obviously Monaco is no place at which to overtake.
“We were expecting more, but I still think we’ve taken a step forward with our qualifying pace. But I think we need to really focus on improving our car performance so we’re better placed to score points.”
