Stoffel Vandoorne has defended his ability in Formula 1 off the back of another disappointing result, this time during qualifying for his home Grand Prix in Belgium.
Vandoorne has endured a difficult sophomore season and has scored just eight points compared to the 44 amassed by Fernando Alonso, and is under pressure to retain his seat.
Vandoorne suffered brake problems and a water leak during Friday’s pair of practice sessions and was pushed onto the grass by Valtteri Bottas in the final session on Saturday.
That resulted in a high-speed spin along the Kemmel Straight, with Vandoorne fortunate to avoid heavy contact with the barriers; Bottas was sanctioned for causing the confusion.
Vandoorne went on to qualify at the rear of the 20-car pack – ensuring he has finished last in each session – though will move up to 18th on the grid due to penalties elsewhere.
“We’ve been last in almost every session,” said Vandoorne. “There have been so many problems this weekend. I don’t think there were any surprises in qualifying.
“It is a home Grand Prix and it is a real shame that we don’t have better machinery to really put on a good show and give them a good result.
“Nothing has gone right. In the end the performance is not really surprising. We have been struggling all weekend. As a team we have not really done well enough.
“We knew these couple of races we’d struggle a bit more, especially the high efficiency circuits, they seem to hurt us really badly.”
Pushed on responding to his doubters, Vandoorne replied: “I have proven in the past that I can win championships.
“I’ve been closer than ever to Fernando [Alonso], so there is nothing much more that I can do.”
Alonso qualified his MCL33 in 17th place as McLaren suffered another double Q1 exit.
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