HWA’s Stoffel Vandoorne captured his first Formula E podium in Rome a fortnight ago and hopes to continue his momentum this weekend at the EPrix de Paris for the eighth round of the year.
Vandoorne, who joined the HWA team this season, is well aware that reliability problems have tainted the first races of the year for his team, but the Belgian remains convinced that the pace of his car will allow him to still score big points before the New York final.
“It was fantastic to make such a good start to the start of the European tour in Rome. I’m confident we can keep this pace for the rest of the season. However, we are also aware that it will not be easy. We still have to work on the reliability of cars. ”
“We will do our best to optimize everything. We are starting from scratch in Paris. Our goal will once again be to complete as many laps as possible and learn as much as possible. Then we will see how things will unfold at the end.”
It should be remembered that Vandoorne, who took the third step of the podium in the last race, broke down just after the finish line in Rome.
“We have been making progress race after race, we have been gaining and gaining. We have ticked few boxes in Rome and it was a good learning for myself as well to the flag as I haven’t managed a lot and hopefully we can continue it in Paris.” Vandoorne said.
Asked about conclusions that could be drawn from the Belgian’s test with Mercedes, Vandoorne said: “I’m obviously one of their drivers now, with HWA. Gary [Paffett] and Edo as well. We’ll see whatever brings next year.
Stoffel Vandoorne captures his Formula E podium in Rome. (Source:www.youtube.com)
“It would be nice to be part of that team obviously. A manufacturer coming in is something important, we’ve seen the power they have when they come into a series like this. They can push the team a big step forward.
“From my side, I’m trying to do the best job I can. Trying to guide them in the best direction. We’ve had a steep learning curve at the start of this year, we know that there’s still a lot more to come, a lot more issues to solve.” he added.
