Vandoorne determined to avoid Magnussen's fate

Even though he admits that he's not been given any guarantees by McLaren Honda that he will be promoted to a full time Formula One race seat in 2016, Belgian ace Stoffel Vandoorne is convinced that he won't end up in the same situation as his predecessor as the team's test and reserve driver, Kevin Magnussen.

Magnussen had a full season of Grand Prix competition in 2014 alongside Jenson Button but was then forced to stand down in 2015 to make way for the arrival of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

Despite believing that he would be able to return to the seat in 2016 or 2017 if he stayed with the team in a supporting capacity, Magnussen was abruptly let go by McLaren toward the end of last season and his test role has since been taken over by Vandoorne, who will now attend all of this year's races and also carry out simulation testing back at Woking.

Having learned from Magnussen's experience, Vandoorne is acutely aware of the risks involved in being the heir apparent - and is determined not to suffer the same fate.

"Kevin is a great driver and he definitely deserves to be in Formula One," said Vandoorne. "He maybe might yet end up in Formula One.

"He was McLaren reserve driver without really the possibility to race. He didn’t have a lot of track time. Hopefully in my case that will be quite a bit different.

"I think we are both very different and our positions are quite different," he continued. "We are at different points of our careers. I haven't been in Formula One yet - I am still working my way up there and hopefully I will get there soon."

"People have different routes to Formula One. Obviously GP2 is a very good learning school and a lot of champions have been successful in Formula One as well.

"It's just about being there at the right time at the right moment. But Formula One is a competitive world and it's never been easy to get there, even when you win championships.

"Some get there quicker than others, it's always been like that in Formula One, but I still think I am quite young and have proven myself in the feeder series to Formula One and I think I deserve a chance to be there. I was just waiting to really get that opportunity and get that chance to be in the car for a season and prove myself."

Vandoorne hopes to keep himself race-sharp - and in the spotlight - by dovetailing his Formula One commitments with McLaren with competition in Japan's Super Formula.

“We are still working on that, but it is no secret that we are going in that direction. I am confident that a deal will happen.

"It is still important to race something at least. It keeps you race sharp, it keeps you race fit. It gives you something to work for during the year as well. Even if Super Formula is not that many races a year, it's still better than doing nothing - the cars are quick," he added, having tested one at Suzuka last November. "They have great cornering speeds which I think is great preparation [for F1]."

Vandoorne noted that he hadn't been set any target objectives for any Super Formula involvement in the way that the team had made it clear they not only wanted him to win the GP2 title last season, but do it emphatically - which he did.

"It's difficult to know what to expect what I"ll be fighting for, but I'll do my best and make the most of it," he said. "To be honest we haven't really talked about it. The most important thing this year is to prepare for 2017. I've showed over the past years already that I'm capable of winning championships.

"McLaren really believes in me, and I'm going into this season to get the best preparation for 2017," he added. "It will be a very busy year for me - being a McLaren reserve driver, going to all the grand prixs, spending a lot of time in the simulator, being at the factory with the engineers. A very good preparation for 2017.

Vandoorne's progress towards Formula One continues with his confirmed participation in this week's Pirelli wet tyre test at Paul Ricard Circuit.

"Every opportunity you get to drive a Formula One car is a good experience," he noted. "I don't have a lot of opportunities to drive the car so to spend two days in it will be a very good experience for me.

"We won't be testing anything with the car - we're just joining Ferrari and Red Bull there to assist Pirelli on their tyre testing programme - but it will be good to get a couple of laps in."

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