Each Vandoorne and team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne had been compelled to start out Saturday’s race from the pitlane when DS Penske was discovered responsible of gaining a “large and unfair benefit”, in keeping with a stewards’ bulletin, from having RFID scanning tools within the pitlane.
An preliminary model of the bulletin mentioned that the crew had been utilizing this to acquire info on what tyres its rivals had been working, however a revised model eliminated the reference to tyres, merely stating that the crew had been in a position to “gather stay information from all vehicles”.
Talking after ending a low-key twelfth, one place behind Vergne, defending champion Vandoorne was adamant that DS Penske was solely attempting to do what its rivals do by way of using photographers, though he admitted the penalty was deserved.
“It was fairly a horrible weekend to be sincere,” Vandoorne informed Motorsport.com. “Everybody prepares super-hard, and to return right here and begin from the pitlane is just not what we wished for positive.
“Clearly what we did was mistaken. However the message that was introduced throughout was not appropriate, individuals saying we had been stealing information from different groups.
“That’s not what we did, we had been simply attempting to test what set of tyres others had been utilizing, which you are able to do with a standard digicam. The opposite groups are doing that, they’re utilizing photographers within the pitlane. We discovered a intelligent method, or a straightforward method, and we paid a giant value for that.
“We settle for the choice, we are able to’t change it, however the message was introduced throughout in a foul method.”
Vergne loved the stronger race of the 2 DS Penske drivers, who had been each helped of their bid to catch up the pack from their pitlane begins by two security automotive intervals within the opening half of the race.
The French driver ran as excessive as fourth with a handful of laps to go earlier than dropping backwards after an off-track tour, whereas Vandoorne was unable to interrupt inside the highest 10 for the whole 32-lap distance as he recorded his worst end since January’s Diriyah races.
Vandoorne mentioned he felt that having to start out from the pitlane finally did not play a serious position within the crew’s outcome given the intense have to power save prevented their rivals from getting away early on.
“Some individuals can do a greater job than us,” mentioned the Belgian. “In races like this, we at all times see Jaguar and Porsche on the entrance and we don’t appear to take part in that.
“I’m not fully positive why, however the races which can be extra purely pace-based, we’re often doing a bit higher, when there’s much less saving to do, however when you could have chaos and also you want the power to maneuver ahead, we don’t appear to have the ability to do this.
“Positively we aren’t joyful and we have now to do a significantly better job.”
