Vandoorne could lose McLaren seat to Ocon
Aug.25 - McLaren has hinted that there might not be a seat for Stoffel Vandoorne for much longer.
In fact, it is rumoured the Belgian could be a victim of a forthcoming driver shakeup.
Lance Stroll is expected to join his billionaire father at Racing Point Force India within weeks -- either in a few days at Monza or more likely for Singapore.
It would mean Robert Kubica steps up to the Williams race seat.
"If I didn't believe I could race again, I would not have signed and Williams would not have signed me," the team's Polish reserve driver said at Spa.
Stroll would oust Esteban Ocon at Force India, with the Frenchman tipped to be snapped up by McLaren. Vandoorne would be the obvious victim of that transaction, particularly as he was dead last in practice for his home Belgian grand prix.
But Vandoorne says he isn't being given a fair chance to shine.
"I am very frustrated," he said after practice at Spa.
"I had problems all day long. First the brakes, then the engine, then the floor. My DRS didn't work. Frankly it's not the ideal preparation.
"I know the team expects a lot from me, but it's up to them to give me a car that doesn't break down. How do they want me to prepare for the race normally?
"I just don't know why it only happens on my car," Vandoorne added.
Vandoorne, 26, was once a highly promising junior driver, but it appears McLaren's patience may have run out.
"Stoffel is a talented driver with excellent team spirit and we sincerely haven't picked our second driver yet," sporting boss Gil de Ferran told RTBF broadcaster.
"I think Stoffel needs to focus on every race weekend to get the maximum points for the team. Should he be more aggressive? I don't think so because every driver is different.
"We're trying to help him but a situation like Stoffel's is inherent to motor sport. In F1, there are only 20 seats, it's part of the game. I don't speculate on what may or may not happen," de Ferran added.
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How can Stoffel think he's done a good enough job to keep his seat at McLaren ? He qualified LAST today & has done NOTHING impressive so Stoffel i think is DELUDING himself!!
Norris looked to have done a solid job and extracted a decent controlled run on Mediums.
Let him drive for McLaren and Ocon to Williams- Merc to Merc - Straight swaps for future talents. Esteban definitely deserves to remain in F1 on talent alone.
Please McLaren hear my prayer and change the livery back to iconic red and white.
# Change the livery change the luck.
Pleas
A new matrix for judging how good/bad both the cars and the drivers are has been launched. Hamilton, Vettel, Raikkonen, and Bottas will run Q1, Q2, and Q3 in McLaren and Williams cars, and Williams and McLaren drivers will run in Ferrari and Mercedes cars. That will remove all the doubts and do away guessing. We'll know what's what, whether it's the drivers or the machines that win.
I can’t wait to see stroll along side Perez. If stroll is anywhere even close to Perez I would be shocked. All bud got going for him is his race start, everything before and after the start from him is a joke. He is by far the worst driver on the grid. Money might buy you a seat but it can’t buy you natural talent