Stoffel Vandoorne says 2017 has been a challenging but rewarding year as he comes to the end of his first full campaign in Formula 1.
Vandoorne, after a one-off race in 2016, in place of the unfit Fernando Alonso, stepped up to a full-time seat with McLaren-Honda for 2017, after Jenson Button stood aside.
Vandoorne struggled during the early events, his plight accentuated by McLaren-Honda’s reliability and performance concerns, but made progress, scoring his first point of the campaign in Hungary.
Vandoorne added back-to-back seventh places in Singapore and Malaysia to bring his season tally to 13 points, just two shy of team-mate Alonso.
“This year has been full of ups and downs for us,” said Vandoorne.
“For me, I had a difficult start to the year, but as the season has progressed I’ve worked really hard with the team and feel that I’ve come into my own.
“I’m more comfortable in the cockpit now than ever before, and my rate of progression over the second half of the season has been very satisfying.
“It’s been a challenging year, but ultimately a rewarding one because I’ve learned a lot, and I can’t wait to see what next year will bring.
“We’ll be pushing hard this weekend to finish the year on a high.”
On the Yas Marina Circuit, venue for this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Vandoorne said: “It’s good to finish the season at a circuit I know well after a couple of new ones in the past few races.
“I’ve driven at Yas Marina Circuit a number of times – in testing and also in GP2, and I’ve won here twice, which are really special memories.
“I’m looking forward to tackling it again in a Formula 1 car – it’s a tricky, technical circuit, but rewarding, and because of its configuration it’s pretty difficult to overtake.”
