Vandoorne already satisfied to be at the finish

Stoffel Vandoorne finished dead last at the Australian GP after experiencing a difficult race in Melbourne. The Belgian, who celebrated his 26th birthday this Sunday, March 25, encountered electrical problems causing him to lose time in the pits and was unable to catch up with the Sauber of Antonio Giovinazzi, reaching the finish after two laps. of the winner Sebastian Vettel.

“I had a very difficult race, confirmed Stoffel Vandoorne. I had to do a full reset when I stopped, which cost me time, and I also lost the dashboard screen for a while. I stayed very busy on the wheel during the race making numerous set-up changes while trying to reach the finish. »

“However, after the Barcelona test we didn't really expect to finish the race and that's a milestone achieved today, added Stoffel Vandoorne. We clearly didn't have the speed to tackle the cars in front of us. We will need further progress in China (in Shanghai on April 9). There are still positives to be taken from this first weekend of the season. I think I deserve a piece of my birthday cake tonight! »

Fernando Alonso was fighting for points before retiring at the end of the race.

Discover the analysis of the Australian Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2107 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.