the Russian Grand Prix because of gearbox problems, while Vandoorne finished 14th. European rounds and Canada At the start of the European season in Spain, Alonso qualified a strong 7th, but finished the race in 12th. Vandoorne retired after an accident. Jenson Button returned for a one-off in Monaco, replacing Alonso who is racing in the Indy 500. Button qualified an impressive 9th and Vandoorne 10th, but both drivers crash in the race (Button with suspension damage caused by punting the Sauber of Pascal Wehrlein onto its side at Portier). At the Canadian Grand Prix, Alonso was running in 10th until he retired three laps from the end with power unit issues, while Vandoorne finished 14th. Alonso scored the team's first points of the season at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with a 9th-place finish, while Vandoorne finished 12th. Alonso retired in Austria after being hit from behind on lap 1, Vandoorne again finished in 12th. At the British Grand Prix, Vandoorne qualified 9th and finished the race 11th, meanwhile Alonso retired with a fuel pump issue. The team would have a positive weekend in Hungary. After both drivers qualified in the top 10, Alonso finished the race in 6th with the fastest lap of the race, while Vandoorne finished in 10th to score his first points of the season and make it a double points finish for the team. At the Belgian Grand Prix, Alonso retired the car mid-race after complaining about engine problems in the radio, however, the team could not find any evidence of engine problems in Alonso's data prompting some speculation he 'gave up'. Vandoorne finished the race in fourteenth. Vandoorne qualified tenth at the Italian Grand Prix, but retired with electrical issues, while Alonso retired with clutch issues. Asian rounds In Singapore, both drivers qualified in the top 10, but Alonso is involved in a crash at the start of the race and retires. Vandoorne is not involved and finished in seventh position. At the Malaysian Grand Prix, Vandoorne qualified a strong seventh, while Alonso makes it two cars in the top ten with tenth position. Vandoorne finished the race in seventh to overtake Alonso in the points, while Alonso finished eleventh. In Japan, Alonso and Vandoorne qualified tenth and eleventh respectively. The team just miss out on points with eleventh by Alonso, while Vandoorne is fourteenth. Final rounds Alonso qualified ninth for the United States