Stoffel Vandoorne: McLarens young star tipped to be F1 great

The Belgian rookie turns 25 on Sunday, when the opening race takes place in Australia.

If his solitary outing in F1 to date is anything to go by, Vandoorne has a bright future in the sport.

Deputizing for an injured Fernando Alonso at the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix, Vandoorne claimed his first F1 points on debut, finishing 10th.



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It was a result all the more remarkable for the fact that he had never set foot inside the cockpit of McLaren's MP4-31.

READ: F1 teen star 'gets more relaxed with every race'

'I more or less knew everything already from driving it in the simulator, but this time was the first time I was driving the car -- I'd never driven it before,' he told CNN's The Circuit last year.

Alonso lavished praise on Vandoorne last September after it was confirmed he would partner the Spanish veteran in 2017.

READ: F1's debt to 'little man with enormous energy'

'I've come across a lot of young drivers over the years, and I know a good one when I see one,' Alonso said.

After dominating the F1 feeder series, GP2 in 2015 Vandoorne was installed as McLaren's reserve driver for the 2016 season before making the step up to partner Alonso full-time this season.

Hamilton heads Friday practice

The McLaren duo struggled to get significant time on the track in winter testing due to reliability problems with their cars' Honda engines.

At Friday's practice sessions in Melbourne, Alonso was 12th fastest -- 2.38 seconds behind the leading time set by Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.

Vandoorne was 17th of the 20 drivers, 2.988 seconds off the British star's pace.

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel was second quickest for Ferrari, slightly faster than Valtteri Bottas -- who was 0.556s behind new teammate Hamilton.

Kimi Raikkonen was fourth in the other Ferrari, 0.905s adrift, while Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were next -- both more than a minute slower than three-time world champion Hamilton.

Hamilton, who was runner-up to eventual world champion Nico Rosberg last year in Australia, described his runs as '99% perfect' despite also having issues in Barcelona testing.

'The car is exactly where it should be,' he said. 'We've shown good form so far on both the long and short runs and we got every lap done that we wanted to.

'We knew from FP1 that the Ferraris weren't at their maximum. Of course, in FP2 all of a sudden they were quick. We'll see tomorrow how it really stands.'

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The 10 teams have another practice session Saturday before qualifying begins.

Visit cnn.com/motorsport for more news and videos After dominating the F1 feeder series, GP2 in 2015 Vandoorne was installed as McLaren's reserve driver for the 2016 season before making the step up to partner Alonso full-time this season. Visit cnn.com/motorsport for more news and videos Hamilton heads Friday practice The 10 teams have another practice session Saturday before qualifying begins. Have your say on our Facebook page Visit cnn.com/motorsport for more news and videos It was a result all the more remarkable for the fact that he had never set foot inside the cockpit of McLaren's MP4-31. READ: F1's debt to 'little man with enormous energy' Kimi Raikkonen was fourth in the other Ferrari, 0.905s adrift, while Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were next -- both more than a minute slower than three-time world champion Hamilton. Deputizing for an injured Fernando Alonso at the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix, Vandoorne claimed his first F1 points on debut, finishing 10th. Alonso lavished praise on Vandoorne last September after it was confirmed he would partner the Spanish veteran in 2017. 'I've come across a lot of young drivers over the years, and I know a good one when I see one,' Alonso said. Hamilton, who was runner-up to eventual world champion Nico Rosberg last year in Australia, described his runs as '99% perfect' despite also having issues in Barcelona testing. 'I've come across a lot of young drivers over the years, and I know a good one when I see one,' Alonso said. Alonso lavished praise on Vandoorne last September after it was confirmed he would partner the Spanish veteran in 2017. Hamilton heads Friday practice Hamilton, who was runner-up to eventual world champion Nico Rosberg last year in Australia, described his runs as '99% perfect' despite also having issues in Barcelona testing. If his solitary outing in F1 to date is anything to go by, Vandoorne has a bright future in the sport. If his solitary outing in F1 to date is anything to go by, Vandoorne has a bright future in the sport. Kimi Raikkonen was fourth in the other Ferrari, 0.905s adrift, while Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were next -- both more than a minute slower than three-time world champion Hamilton.

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