Vandoorne completes maiden Super Formula test

X (Twitter)X (Twitter)
FacebookFacebook
WhatsappWhatsapp

McLaren-Honda protégé and 2015 GP2 Series winner Stoffel Vandoorne completed his maiden Super Formula test, setting the 17th fastest time on Day 1 of this week’s session at Suzuka.

The Belgian ace drove the Honda-powered Docomo Team Dandelion machine but his progress was hampered by engine-related issues, while poor weather conditions also disrupted proceedings at the Japanese Grand Prix venue.

“It’s been a fantastic day for me, my first time in a Super Formula car,” Vandoorne told the series’ official Facebook page after the test. “It was also a new track for me and I really enjoyed my time here.

“It’s been a bit of a difficult day for us with engine problems in the morning. I did not do so many laps in dry conditions but I think our pace looked pretty good before the failure.

“In the afternoon, the conditions were quite difficult. It rained then it stopped, so it was really tricky. I think we managed it quite well though. I’m looking forward to putting everything together and hopefully having another go in one of these cars.”

Vandoorne recently declared that he definitely wanted to race something next year, with Super Formula emerging as a potential option alongside his reserve role at McLaren-Honda.

The 23-year-old now heads to Abu Dhabi where he will look to cap his record GP2 Series campaign with another strong showing.

Unfinished business: the scores still to be settled in Abu Dhabi

Use the red tabs on either side of the screen to scroll through more Formula One news and features

Click here for exclusive pictures of the Ferrari power unit

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Julien Billiotte

Recent Posts

Domenicali meets Thai PM for street race plan in Bangkok

Formula 1’s global ambitions took another vibrant on Tuesday, as CEO Stefano Domenicali touched down…

9 hours ago

Alpine’s Oakes: ‘We’ve caused a lot of the noise around Doohan’

Alpine F1 team principal Oliver Oakes has acknowledged that much of the pre-season speculation surrounding…

10 hours ago

Wolff: Clear Mercedes has 'taken a step forward'

The 2025 Australian Grand Prix has come and gone, and for Mercedes team principal Toto…

11 hours ago

Alonso calls for redesign of Melbourne’s Turn 6 after costly crash

Fernando Alonso was hoping to kick off his 2025 F1 season with a productive weekend…

12 hours ago

Brundle: Hamilton's Ferrari debut ‘disappointing by any metric’

Sky F1’s Martin Brundle delivered a scathing assessment of Lewis Hamilton’s race debut with Ferrari,…

14 hours ago

A quiet man on the verge of F1 greatness

On this day in 1977, Carlos Pace was killed in a light aircraft accident near…

15 hours ago