McLaren F1 Team driver Stoffel Vandoorne has said he is “really looking to forward” to returning to Austin, ahead of the Grand Prix which is due to be held there this weekend.
“I’m really looking forward to heading back to the US. I’m a big fan and have been spending more and more time there recently,” said the Belgian.
He added: “Austin is a really cool city and every year I spend time with the team exploring and trying out cool restaurants. You can’t go to Austin and not have Texan barbecue!”
This is the last time the Belgian will line up on the grid, as he is due to leave the both the team and sport at the end of the season, along with his World Champion team-mate Fernando Alonso.
The Circuit of the Americas track is one which is favoured by many of the drivers, including reining World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
“I also really like the COTA track. It has a great mix of corners and is fun to drive. The fans too are really enthusiastic and we seem to have bitter have bigger and noisier crowds every year we go there.”
The British team have had a dire season, and are a world away from their Championship winning days. However, Vandoorne is hopeful that something good will come from this year’s visit to Austin.
“It’s tricky to make predictions, but this track will hopefully be a bit more favourable to our car. The last couple of races have been difficult for us but we hope that in Austin we’ll be able to show a bit more performance.”
