Vandoorne: Abu Dhabi crash similar to Alonso’s

Stoffel Vandoorne says his crash during Wednesday’s test in Abu dhabi was a “bit strange” as it was similar to Fernando Alonso’s off on Tuesday.

Two days in succession McLaren were forced into repair jobs as first Alonso and then Vandoorne hit the barriers at the Yas Marina circuit.

Alonso crashed on Tuesday when he spun on entry into Turn 19 while a day later Vandoorne rear-ended the barriers at that same corner.

“Today was generally a very good day – although it was a bit strange that I crashed in the same corner that Fernando did yesterday,” he said.

The Belgian racer, though, was happy with his day’s work.

“Overall though, today has been very productive for me and the team, and it’s been really beneficial to be able to have a first feeling of the 2018 Pirelli compounds.

“We’ve done a lot of testing, completed some good mileage, and understood a lot about how the tyres behave. The past couple of days have now given us the tools to be able to analyse the data over the winter and have a good benchmark for next year.

“Now that we’ve reached the final day on track of the 2017 season, I’d like to say a big thanks to all my mechanics, engineers and the rest of the team – not only for working so hard on my car today – but for pushing hard throughout the whole year, despite the challenges.”