It was a difficult first practice session for Stoffel Vandoorne in Mexico on Friday, the Belgian driver suffering a Power Unit issue that became apparent after just three installation laps and he was forced to sit out the rest of FP1.
The team detected an anomaly in the data coming from his power unit, which following initial interrogation in the garage could not be diagnosed, so it was decided that the engine should be changed in order to further investigate the issue.
The mechanics did a good job to change Stoffel's power unit in time for FP2, and he was able to get out on track shortly after the pit lane opened at the start of the session.
He then had a trouble-free afternoon โ getting to grips with the car's handling after an interrupted morning.
โI had an engine problem in FP1 which obviously limited our mileage,โ he said. โIn FP2 too it was difficult for us to get out of the box at the beginning of the session due to a loose wheel, but we managed to complete our programme for that session and gather the data we needed.
โI hope tomorrow we will have a trouble-free day and continue our weekend as normal.โ
โI'm pleased we've managed to find the root of the PU problem we had in the first session, and hopefully we can get as much mileage as we can in FP3 tomorrow before qualifying.โ
โOn a new track, mileage is always the most important thing to achieve, especially when you're trying to dial in the car to the circuit in tricky conditions like the high altitude we experience here. I feel positive that we can find a better feeling in the car tomorrow provided we can get the track time, and collect as much information as possible ahead of qualifying and the race.โ
