Vandoorne hopes for ‘weekend as normal’ following engine failure

Having moved on to his 12^th engine of the 2017 Formula 1 season, Stoffel Vandoorne battled through further engine issues which restrained his FP1 running to three laps before recovering in the afternoon.

Vandoorne, who is making his debut at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, will start the race with a 35-place grid penalties after last week's United States Grand Prix, the McLaren Honda driver is aiming for “a weekend as normal” despite his latest engine issue.

“I had an engine problem in FP1 which obviously limited our mileage,” Vandoorne said. “In 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.”

After a latest setback Vandoorne is hoping for a pain-free Saturday ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix.

“I hope tomorrow we will have a trouble-free day and continue our weekend as normal,” he said. “I’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.

“On 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.”