Stoffel Vandoorne may have missed out on a points finish in the Canadian Grand Prix last year, but he feels ready to attack the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve again this year and put that right.
The McLaren F1 Team racer admits he loves driving around street circuits, and although he was unfortunate during the Monaco Grand Prix last time out – an issue in Qualifying hampered the rest of his weekend – he is more than ready to attack this weekend in Canada and bring home some much-needed points.
“I really enjoyed racing in Canada for the first time last year, and I feel well prepared to tackle the streets of Montreal again,” said Vandoorne. “It’s a completely different track to Monaco, but a lot of the principles are the same – narrow streets, close barriers and tight racing.
“I hope we can have some fun this year and get in the mix. I love street tracks – they’re the circuits I enjoy racing on most as they’re the biggest challenge for a driver.
“There are definitely more overtaking opportunities in Montreal than in Monaco, so there’s more chance of capitalising on any action that happens. We’ll be working hard in every area to bring everything together for race day, hopefully along with some points.”
After misfortune in Monaco, Vandoorne is hopeful that the team can show that improvements made to the MCL33 in recent weeks are working as they bid to close the gap to those at the front of the field, whilst he also hopes that both he and team-mate Fernando Alonso have luck on their side at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
“I feel that we’re improving step-by-step, and I hope we can show this in Canada,” said the Belgian. “We had an unfortunate situation in quali in Monaco where we had no choice but to send the car out with a small issue, and it influenced our grid slot and then the rest of the weekend.
“As well as solid preparation, we need a little bit of luck on our side this weekend, for both myself and Fernando.”
