F1 End of Season Report: Rate the Grid - Stoffel Vandoorne

Paul Jeffrey · Dec 12, 2017

McLaren Honda have tried their hardest to hide the form of young charger Stoffel Vandoorne, however can our community see through the car troubles and 'Rate the Grid'?

The bare statistics don't do Vandoorne justice. 13 points, no podiums and a poor qualifying record against team mate Alonso really fail to show exactly how talented this young Belgian driver can be in Formula One, masking the obvious potential and future race winning ability of one of the more promising prospects in modern day open wheel racing.

Any driver having to suffer a McLaren Honda of 2017 vintage would do well to end the season with their head held high, the question is has Vandoorne doe enough this year to gain the respect of our RaceDepartment community?

Vote now to tell us how you rate the 2017 season for McLaren Honda driver Stoffel Vandoorne, and leave a comment below!

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Autofahren · Dec 12, 2017

At the beginning of the season I was kind of disappointed, especially stuff like the weird crash with Massa in Barcelona or his crash in Monaco... But towards the end of the season he started outqualifying and outracing the legendary Fernando Alonso (possibly the toughest team mate one can have). Looks he has found a comfortable position within the team, way to go for the future then. 7/10

Jimlaad43 · Dec 12, 2017

His season has been jus Stoffel. But that was Honda's fault. 8/10

Sky · Dec 12, 2017

Is he really car number 2? Never noticed that before. In fact i'm not sure i've seen him onscreen at all this year.

So clearly he needs a better comedy radio routine like his teammate. That's what he's missing.

pcraenme · Dec 12, 2017

I visited the Spa GP the last season Stoffel drove in GP2 and he looked very talented/promising at that time. Unfortunately he is driving a McLaren now and his teammate is still one of the best F1 drivers around, so it is difficult to be noticed. I visited Spa again last year and there the grandstands were packed with Dutch Verstappen fans, so also there he is unlucky by having another driver getting almost all the attention even at his home GP.

If McLaren is able to build a good car and Renault a good engine in 2018, we may be able to see what Stoffel is capable of in F1. This year he did ok, but not great, so I scored him a 7.

rubaru · Dec 12, 2017

I was convinced last season that Stoffel has a bright future in F1, having sat for Alonso in Bahrain. First time in the car, and a McLaren-Honda at that, and getting his first F1 point. Proved his worth right there, and I don't think it was down to a whole lot of luck. This season was pretty disastrous for the whole team in general, so it was hard to find highlights. In the races he was able to finish, though, he was able to put the car in places it maybe shouldn't have been. Partnering him with a veteran like Alonso will only strengthen him as a driver and a person.

MoerasGrizzly · Dec 12, 2017

I am actually kinda afraid for Stoffel as he gets a raw deal in terms of being noticed in this world: He'll mostly be second best to the best F1 driver in the world with the worst engine in the world. However, seems like he is getting noticed anyway, and I for one am very happy that both the most promising F1 drivers on the grid atm speak dutch

Nick Gregory · Dec 12, 2017

I give him a 7. He did good.

mister dog · Dec 12, 2017

He sure gave Alonso a run for his money, points wise Fernando only catched up at the last races. Hope he does well next year and I can see his helmet through the bloody HALO

.

ps. Stoffel was also once a member here at RD right?

Nico · Dec 12, 2017

mister dog said:
ps. Stoffel was also once a member here at RD right?

Now this is a topic I would like to see on an article. Notable drivers which have -or had- an account on this site.

sjb266 · Dec 13, 2017

He's a star of the very near future..

XCalinX · Dec 13, 2017

He's a great driver, almost on Fernando's level. It's just unfortunate that both of them were held back by that Go Kart eengine, hopefully McLaren will develop a good chassis to go with that Renault engine and they might win a couple of races.

Deleted member 205301 · Dec 13, 2017

....probably the most difficult driver to rate for 2017...
Is He talented and promised to a great future ? yes, no doubt
Did He a great season ? Not really, but that's the car's fault
Did he ouperformed his teamate ? Off course no, but nobody could do it (maybe 2-3 drivers could defeat Alonso, but not ouperformed him)
Stoffel seems to be a guy, not particularly spectacular, not really iconic, He's not a "character" (as bernie said about hamilton), but he's here to do his job, and do it really well. Gave him a 7/10, probably deserves a 6.5 , but needs to be behind nando more often...
@++

MarkR · Dec 13, 2017

The UnStoffable Flying Waffle 9/10 for nickname 6/10 for driving. Jenson Button would have been a better fit for another year of PR and damage control, then let the Stoff have a go in the new package to show his real talent.

rubaru · Dec 13, 2017

MarkR said:
The UnStoffable Flying Waffle 9/10 for nickname 6/10 for driving. Jenson Button would have been a better fit for another year of PR and damage control, then let the Stoff have a go in the new package to show his real talent.

Don't you think he benefited from having a crappy car and learning how to talk to his engineers to improve things? The extra year with ALO has to have done him well, too.

MarkR · Dec 13, 2017

rubaru said:
Don't you think he benefited from having a crappy car and learning how to talk to his engineers to improve things? The extra year with ALO has to have done him well, too.

Fair points but no, for me, the evidence on mastery suggests a poor car at this stage of his career adds little to his development. No one gives a young tennis player a bad racket to help them improve. Fighting the limitations of the car doesn't necessarily help the driver improve. Alonso is at exactly the right stage of his career to know how to overcome the limitations of the car. As for working 'with' Alonso I don't think they work together much at all, competitors in the same car is more like it. I agree on the importance of getting to know the team but he was already part of the team as the test driver.

JohnMalmo · Dec 17, 2017

7/10, not bad
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