McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne believes he's fared well against team-mate and two-time champion Fernando Alonso during his rookie season in Formula 1.
Vandoorne currently sits just two points adrift of the Spaniard's tally of 15 points and has two seventh-place finishes, whilst Alonso has one sixth-place finish to his name this season as McLaren's Honda struggles continue.
The team haven't had the results they hoped for, but Vandoorne believes he's made the best of the situation and has proven his talent when it's been possible amidst various reliability problems.
"With all the issues we had throughout this season I was never 'traumatised', but instead always wanted to fight the odds to get the best possible result and learn with every lap that I did in the car – even if sometimes my mileage was cut short by circumstance," the Belgian told the official F1 website.
When asked what he'd take away from the year with just one race remaining, Vandoorne replied: "That I fared very well against Fernando.
"Yes, the race results were not as expected, but having a super strong team-mate is a well known value in the paddock. "
The 25-year-old meanwhile is looking forward to next season and says the results Red Bull have been able to achieve with Renault power give McLaren – which will switch from Honda to Renault in 2018 – hope.
"Of course the team is already focused one hundred per cent on next year's package. Everything that I have heard so far is positive. The car won't be compromised, even if it is a big change.
"What we have seen from Renault is promising when looking at Red Bull's results – their wins and podiums. Yes, it will put us under pressure – positive pressure because we will have a benchmark."
