
The Spaniard's Las Vegas weekend was compromised by the water valve incident in practice, and he was only able to secure sixth place on a day when team-mate Charles Leclerc fought for victory.
In Abu Dhabi, he had a big crash in FP2, and after a poor Q1 saw him start only 16th and gamble on two stints with the hard tyres. Waiting for a safety car failed to pay off, and he tumbled out of the points when he headed to the pits on the penultimate lap.