Stoffel Vandoorne says he is aware that winning this year’s GP2 title may not guarantee him a seat in Formula 1 next season.
The Belgian has dominated the F1 feeder series this season picking up four victories, eight podiums and three pole positions for the ART Grand Prix team.
Vandoorne is part of McLaren’s extensive line up of junior drivers, but a move to the British outfit would not be straightforward.
McLaren has Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso as it’s current race drivers and Kevin Magnussen as reserve driver.
Vandoorne concedes even dominating GP2 may not be enough to earn him an F1 drive.
“It has always been a very competitive sport, always been drivers that have done well and not got to F1,” said Vandoorne during a phone-in on Wednesday.
“We know it is a very competitive sport at the moment, and even if I win the championship this year there is no guarantee that I will be in F1 next year.
“I am certainly trying my best and pushing really hard for it, and I really hope to be there next year.
“There is not much more I can do at the moment. I am trying to the best as possible every race, every qualifying, every practice – every time I get in the car.
“That is ultimately what puts me in the best position for the future.”
Ready For F1
The 23-year-old has no doubts, however, that he is ready to step up to Formula 1 when given the opportunity.
“Definitely. I feel ready,” he said. “I tested an F1 car last year with McLaren and that went very well. I’m now in my second season in GP2 and it’s going very well as well.
“I drove the car in Austria and that was very smooth – unfortunately it rained in the morning and we lost some track time, but the afternoon was a very decent session without any troubles, so yes I do feel ready.
Vandoorne insists his main focus at the moment is to win this years GP2 title.
“I’ve said many times that my focus still lies on GP2 at the moment, because that’s the place I can prove myself at the moment. Its most important for me to win that championship,” he said.
“At the moment it’s been going really well, I’m leading it by a good margin now. But it is still a long way to go, still six races left, so anything can happen. So still a bit early to know anything about my future at the moment.”
He added: “At the moment I’m not really focusing on not being in F1. I think that would be the wrong focus at the moment. The main focus is still GP2, try to win that.
“I do have quite a lot of talks with Eric and Ron about my future, but it is still too early to know what opportunities are available.
Images courtesy of McLaren-Honda
