Stoffel Vandoorne made it into the all-important Q3 for the first time in his short Formula One career at the Monaco circuit on Saturday afternoon, however, he was unable to get any higher than tenth due to the fact that he actually crashed his McLaren Honda in the final minute of Q2.
As a result, he was forced to sit his first Q3 session out and watch as the other nine drivers went out for their final runs, leaving him in tenth place at the end of the day.
However, he won't be starting from tenth place as he was hit with a three place grid penalty for his accident with the Williams of Felipe Massa in the recent Spanish Grand Prix. Instead of going back to P13, he will actually start from 12th as his teammate for the weekend, Jenson Button, was hit with a 15 place grid demotion and he qualified ninth.
“This is a positive day. It's my first time in Q3 – but I really should have been out on track for that last session. Sadly, I didn't make it!” the Belgian racer said. “We came here expecting to be more competitive, and we definitely showed that we've made a step this weekend. For every session, we've been able to run inside the top 10, and I felt very calm and confident in the cockpit.”
“It's a shame my qualifying session ended with a little crash – but that's what sometimes happens when you're pushing hard on the limit around this place. I think it's really starting to come together for me with the team; tomorrow, I just want to get out there and have some fun.”
The aim for the team on Sunday is to score points. And win the Indy 500.
