McLaren Honda racing director Eric Boullier believes Stoffel Vandoorne, the team's protégé and reserve drive for 2016, will only benefit from racing in Super Formula next season.
The Belgian, who blitzed his opposition this year in GP2, recently completed a test in Japan with a Honda-powered team and looks set to keep himself busy in the Super Formula series as he bides his time in the hope of graduating to Formula 1 in 2017.
"I would like him to be third driver here and do Super Formula," Boullier told Autosport.
"There are two objectives: one is to get the speed and the fitness for the driver and the other is the Super Formula car has a lot of grip, which is good preparation.
“It is better to be a third driver here and racing than doing something else. You have to keep your chances open."
No doubt McLaren will have learned the lessons from keeping Kevin Magnussen on the sidelines when he was not selected for a second F1 season in 2015, apart from a one-off appearance in Australia following Fernando Alonso's unavailability.
Magnussen was eventually released from McLaren, his F1 ambitions grinding to a halt.
2015 F1 season: F1i's drivers review 10-1
