Jacques Villeneuve believes McLaren-Honda's Stoffel Vandoorne should focus on just one thing when the season gets underway next week: beating Fernando Alonso!

The Belgian's team endured a difficult time in Barcelona, dogged once again by dismal reliability issues affecting its Honda power-unit.

Over the course of two weeks, McLaren-Honda never succeeded in achieving more than eleven consecutive laps of the Circuit de Catalunya.

"It isn't easy for Stoffel, but it isn't all lost either," Villeneuve told Belgian broadcaster RTBF.

"The only thing left to do is to try and  beat Fernando Alonso. It's still better to be in a team like McLaren than staying home doing nothing.

"He's a professional driver who doesn't have to bring money to the team, a rare occurrence these days. He should feel happy about that."

"He's also racing alongside a man of great talent, whom he can measure up to. How he will perform against Fernando Alonso will define his value... or not."

"If he was racing against another new young driver, beating him or not would not mean much."

GALLERY: F1 drivers' wives and girlfriends

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Bortoleto targets another points payday on home soil

Gabriel Bortoleto returns to familiar territory this weekend with something tangible to celebrate and an…

54 minutes ago

Leclerc celebrates birth of daughter Bianca ahead of Brazil GP

Charles Leclerc and his wife, Alexandra, have officially welcomed their first child – a baby…

4 hours ago

Driven by a legend: Antonelli’s heartfelt tribute to Senna

Some moments touch the soul in ways no championship trophy ever could. Ahead of this…

5 hours ago

Wolff ‘reflecting every day’ on his Mercedes future

Kimi Antonelli’s coronation last weekend in Mexico is one of the most rewarding moments of…

6 hours ago

Cadillac hands Herta crucial sixth FP1 outing in Brazil

Cadillac has given Colton Herta another shot at securing his Formula 1 future, with the…

7 hours ago

McLaren brings 2027 thinking into its Brazil upgrade push

McLaren is refusing to let its recent dip in form derail its development ambitions, with…

8 hours ago