Stoffel joined Jaime Alguersuari on Wednesday's F1 Report
Friday 16 September 2016 11:23, UK
Stoffel Vandoorne says he is pushing for a seat with McLaren next season as he eyes a full-time breakthrough onto the F1 grid.
The McLaren reserve accepts that he is likely to be in direct competition with Jenson Button for a seat alongside Fernando Alonso, who is under contract for 2017.
The Belgian successfully debuted with McLaren as stand-in for Alonso at the Bahrain GP in April and is targeting a permanent race seat for 2017 after a year as the team's reserve driver.
Speaking on Wednesday night's F1 Report on Sky F1, Vandoorne said: "Jenson is still doing great. He's a world champion and everybody knows that we're more or less fighting maybe for the same drive next year.
"Whatever it's going to be like we'll have to accept it. I'm definitely pushing to get a drive. I've had my first shot in Bahrain to drive the car and got the first point this year for the team as well.
"It was a great opportunity for me to be able to show what I can do and now I have to take advantage of it and try to find my way in."
McLaren's management have indicated they are unlikely to take a decision on their line-up for 2017 before September, with chairman Ron Dennis suggesting the final call could even come later than that.
Reigning GP2 champion Vandoorne is combining his McLaren reserve duties with a racing season in Japan's Super Formula, where is currently fifth in the standings after the season's opening two rounds.
Asked about his 2017 McLaren chances, Vandoorne said: "It's looking positive. I'm very positive and hopefully things just come together for me."
Underlining the high regard with which McLaren hold the 24-year-old Belgian in, Dennis recently responded to speculation rival teams may be interested in Vandoorne's services by saying "any other team that imagines they may be able to poach him away from us is very much mistaken".
Hear more from Stoffel on Wednesday night's F1 Report, which featured full analysis of the epic Austrian GP and the fallout from the latest collision between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Marc Priestley is also joined by former Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari, as the trio look back at last weekend's events and ahead to this weekend's British GP.
