Team mates have come and gone for Fernando Alonso who does not sees rookie Stoffel Vandoorne as a major threat... at least not yet.
The last time Alonso was paired with a F1 debutante was in 2007 when the man on the other side of the McLaren garage was none other than Lewis Hamilton, a relationship which did not work out too well for the Spaniard back then.
But the two-time world champion very much doubts that history could repeat itself.
"He (Vandoorne) is not a driver to fight for the title against me now, because our goal is something else," Alonso said.
" We must fight but also work together and help the team to make this difficult period as short as possible."
Alonso insisted however that the situation took nothing away from Vandoorne's genuine talent.
"He is a very good driver, he brings fresh air, he's very talented as he demonstrated in GP2 and in Japan last year.
"I remember when I went back to Renault I had Piquet. Then came Grosjean who was also going to be very fast and was not.
"The same happened at Ferrari with Felipe (Massa): he was at Ferrari for many years and he was not faster. Then Kimi (Raikkonen), who everyone said is a world champion but he was not faster.
"So let's see what happens now. I'm not worried, I'm not afraid," said Alonso.
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