Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMcLaren

’No guarantee I’ll be in F1’ - Vandoorne

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Stoffel Vandoorne says there is no guarantee he will step up to F1 next year despite a dominant display so far in the GP2 championship.

The McLaren youngster has been impressive in his second GP2 season, winning four of the first ten races and currently holding a lead of 65 points the drivers' standings. With the GP2 champion unable to stay on to defend his crown, Vandoorne has yet to switch his focus to trying to secure an F1 seat and admits he can't be certain he will be able to get one.

“It has always been a very competitive sport, everybody knows that," Vandoorne said. "There have always been drivers that have done well and they haven't got to Formula One. We know it is still similar at the moment, it's a very competitive sport and even if I win the championship this season there is no guarantee that I will be in Formula One next year.

"I'm certainly trying my best and pushing really hard for it and I really hope to be there next year."

However, Vandoorne believes his performances so far in GP2 are all he can do in order to convince McLaren to find him an F1 seat.

Asked if he feels his form has been earning him consideration, Vandoorne replied: "I think it has to be, there's not much more I can do at the moment.

"I'm trying to do the best as possible every race, every time I get in the car. Every practice session, every qualifying session I try to perform in the car and that's ultimately what puts me in the best position for the future."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.