McLaren protégé Stoffel Vandoorne is dominating the 2015 GP2 Series, leading the drivers’ championship by 76 points having amassed almost double the number of points of his nearest challenger.
Vandoorne has won every Feature Race this season, taken pole at every round bar Monaco while the reverse grid Sprint Race in the principality is the only race he hasn’t finished on the podium at.
Ahead of his outing behind the wheel of the McLaren-Honda MP4-30 in the F1 test at the Red Bull Ring, Sky Sports caught up with the Belgian to discuss his season and plans for the future.
Another great weekend for you – a win in the Feature Race and coming from eighth to second in the reverse grid race, underlining your F1 credentials.
“It has been another great GP2 weekend for me in Austria, pole position and victory in the first race and second in the Sprint Race equals my results from Bahrain and Barcelona. So it is all looking good so far, I have a big lead [76 points] in the championship which is very positive. Always from the word go I wanted to dominate this championship and I think up until now we have achieved that. I am aware that the championship is still long, we have only done four rounds and there are still six or seven left, so there is still a long way to go. But I am keeping my head down and working with the team very hard to make no mistakes and if we can manage that we should be in a good position.”
You were a rookie last year and got to learn the GP2 car and the style of racing. How much has that helped this season?
“First of all, I think last year was a really good learning year for me, I finished second in the championship, had really good results. Some thought that coming back for a second year was a bit of a risk, but I still feel it is a good benefit for me to have a second go at it and really go for the championship. It is still different to put a championship together than just win races so I think I will benefit from the championship this year.”
How are your F1 prospects looking for next year? You can’t go back to GP2 if you win the title…
“Definitely the aim is to win the championship this year and it is going pretty well. Obviously I am thinking about Formula 1 - it is pretty normal I think at this stage - but it is still very early days as well. It is still very early to commit to something in Formula 1, I just have to keep focussed on GP2 at the moment and we will see what happens in the future.”
No pointers from McLaren on your future? Obviously Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso have contracts for next year, but what about a seat somewhere else on the grid?
“At the moment it is still very early, I have regular talks with the management at McLaren, with Ron [Dennis], with Eric [Boullier], we are discussing things, but it is still very early and too early to know something about my future.”
You were the first to drive the new Honda unit at the Abu Dhabi test last year. How has the engine changed since you drove it?
“I haven’t tested it now, but they have definitely made a very big progression since the Abu Dhabi test last year. There is still a long way to go obviously, everybody knows that, but the progression is huge even if it doesn’t always show that. But it is still going to be an ongoing process for the future. We will see where we end up in a couple of months.”
Controversially GP2 introduced DRS this year – what have you made of it? Does it help prepare a driver for F1?
“I think it is quite good, it gives something extra to the car and some more opportunities to overtake. F1 has it as well so why not have it in GP2? It just prepares the driver a bit more for Formula 1. I think it has been pretty good this year, especially for myself in reverse grid races as it did help me get through the pack.”
You can see Vandoorne in action in the GP2 Series with every race and qualifying session live on Sky Sports F1.