Kevin Magnussen says that Stoffel Vandoorne has been very fortunate in the timing of his arrival at McLaren for his first full season of Grand Prix racing in 2017, and that he will have the opportunity to learn from one of the best talents in the sport.
“He’s been very lucky to come into Formula One in a very good time, come into McLaren in a very good time,” Magnussen told Motorsport.com. “I think a lot of good things are happening there, and I think it is a very good place to be at now.”
Vandoorne has already completed one race outing with the Woking-based team when he took over from an injured Fernando Alonso for the Bahrain Grand Prix in April, and finished in the points on his début. He will become a full-time driver with the team in 2017 following Jenson Button’s retirement.
Magnussen is himself a former test and development driver for McLaren, and had a full-time race seat with the squad in 2014. After a season with Renault, the Dane will move to Haas for next year’s championship.
“I don’t need to give him any advice,” said Magnussen whether he had any tips for the Belgian driver, who won the 2015 GP2 championship in dominant fashion. “He knows how to do it himself, and he has some people there to support him.”
Magnussen did warn Vandoorne that his biggest threat in his maiden season would come from Alonso who will be his team mate in 2017 – but that this would also be a golden opportunity for him to learn the ropes from a two-time world champion.
“He will have someone that he will have to pay attention to. He will have to look at what he is doing and learn from what he is doing,” cautioned Magnussen.
“[Vandoorne] is up against one of the best in the sport. He will be able to show properly what he can do because of that, so I think he has everything that you can ask for to make a future for yourself in Formula One.
“[Alonso] has so much experience, and this experience is what you need to really pay attention to and learn from it as much as you can.”
F1i’s Chris Medland sits down with Red Bull boss Christian Horner
2016 driver ratings: 12-1
2016 driver ratings: 24-13
2016 team-by-team review: Part one
2016 team-by-team review: Part two
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Click Here: NRL Telstra Premiership