Vandoorne aiming to build on momentum in second test

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New McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne aims to build on McLaren's modest achievements so far to next week's pre-season test.

The team had a troubled start to the first test with multiple engine issues. Fortunately Vandoorne and his team mate Fernando Alonso did get some laps in during the latter half of the week.

"We had a difficult start to the week," Vandoorne said. "But I want to say thank you to the team for all their hard work over the past four days.

"We’ve managed a solid couple of days’ running and made good progress. I’m really proud of the team effort to ensure we could make the most of our track time.

"I’m really pleased both Fernando and I were able to spend a full day in the car with no major issues," he continued. "[We] got a good amount of valuable mileage under our belt and completed our scheduled run plans on both days."

McLaren 'in much better state than 2016'

This will be the 24-year-old's first full season in Formula One. However, he made his Grand Prix début in Bahrain in 2016 subbing for an injured Alonso. As a rookie, he's looking to get as much testing as possible before the first race of the season in Melbourne.

"We’ve tried a lot of different things, worked on various set-ups. We’re learning a lot about the handling and characteristics of the car with every lap, which has been very useful for me.

"The addition of the wet testing was also interesting as it was the first opportunity for us to try out a wet weather set-up with the new tyres and under the new regulations.

"I felt comfortable in the car, even in the wet, which has provided us with valuable data and given me a good feel for how the car reacts in varying track conditions.

"I hope we can continue this momentum and have a strong week at the next test," added the Belgian racer.

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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.