General
Wolff praises Vandoorne's role in the Mercedes family
- GPblog.com
Stoffel Vandoorne had hoped that he would be allowed to drive the W11 this weekend during the second Grand Prix in Bahrain. Toto Wolff chose George Russell to replace Lewis Hamilton, who tested positive for coronavirus. The team boss of Mercedes explained that there were no firm agreements with Vandoorne.
"Stoffel is doing great in Formula E and has done a perfect job this year as our reserve driver," Wolff said as quoted by Racefans.net. The 48-year-old understands very well that Vandoorne is disappointed that he is not allowed to take part this weekend. "We understand and respect that. He's a racer and we don't expect him to be jumping for joy."
Vandoorne had no guarantees
"He's also pragmatic and understands the reasons for our decision. As reserve driver, you go into the season knowing that you could be called on to race, but that it's not a guarantee and also that you have a role to play away from the track in the simulator and doing development work," Wolff explained.
The Austrian did however, praise the Belgian driver for his role at Mercedes as a whole. "Stoffel has done a great job with that, as well as his main role in Formula E, where they have just completed pre-season testing. He's an important part of the motorsport family at Mercedes and a top team player."