Stoffel Vandoorne has told McLaren to give him a working car before they make comparisons between him and upcoming junior Lando Norris.
McLaren ran Norris in first free practice on Friday as they look set to hand the Briton a race seat for 2019, but first wanted to directly compare the Formula 2 driver to Vandoorne, who has been struggling this year.
Norris was almost a tenth quicker than the Belgian, with the pair finishing 18th and 20th respectively.
However Vandoorne said his Friday was "very frustrating" as he experience countless isues in both free practice sessions.
"I had a day full of problems again today and it’s not been the best start to the weekend," he said. "I had some brake problems at the start of FP1 and then some engine-related problems, so I didn’t really manage to get any proper laps in and it didn’t really feel like I’ve been working today.
"I started off with some problems again in FP2, so I had maybe one run that was more or less representative. It’s been a very frustrating day for me, especially in front of my home crowd. I came here very optimistic, looking forward to racing here, with a lot of positive energy and a lot of support from the fans, and to start off the weekend like this was definitely not ideal.
"It feels like we’ve had so many problems lately and I’m really hoping to get some normal running. It’s obviously very frustrating."
On being compared to Norris, Vandoorne called on McLaren to give him a car capable of lapping without issue before making a decision.
"I think the team is definitely expecting me to perform and I think I’ve performed quite well over the last couple of races. We’ve had our issues, but we’ve showed some very good performance in Hungary.
"Obviously they want to see how we compare, but I think first of all the team should give me a car that is able to run on track before we can be compared."
