Stoffel Vandoorne has thanked McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso for his advice ahead of his planned Formula 1 debut in Bahrain this weekend.
Alonso was deemed unfit to race in Bahrain following his horrific 200 mph crash in Australia two weeks ago that has left the Spaniard with a fractured rib.
McLaren announced on Thursday that 2015 GP2 champion Vandoorne would be deputizing for Alonso this weekend, marking his full F1 debut.
Vandoorne enjoyed his first on-track running on Friday, finishing 11th in second practice, and he was thankful for the advice that Alonso had offered.
“I really want to enjoy this opportunity and I’m very excited about the chance I’m getting,” Vandoorne said.
“Fernando has been around all day beside me and with the engineers, and has been giving me some great advice. We have a great team and I know a lot of the guys around here, so it makes my life a little bit easier to come and work with them.
“It’s definitely not an ideal situation to just jump in the car without any testing, but so far this Friday has been very good during both practice sessions. I’ve been feeling more and more comfortable, and tomorrow I think that progression is going to continue.
“I felt very prepared today – I’ve done a lot of simulator work over the last few months at the factory. Since I got the call, I’ve done a lot of learning with the engineers, about how to set up the car, and also how to operationally bring the car home during the race.
“It’s been a busy day, but everything went fine. Bahrain is a track I really enjoy and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the weekend.”
Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports
Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.
Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.
Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.
The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.
In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.
Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.
Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.
Last Five Seattle Winners
450s 2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto
