Former Toro Rosso driver Buemi, who joined Red Bull's recent Pirelli 2017 tyre testing, has been hugely impressed by the impact of the extra downforce that is coming.

He went as far as suggesting that F1's younger drivers may end up being 'scared' by what they experience.

“I think Formula 1 will go back to being the top of being very hard to drive,” he told Motorsport.com. “As a new driver you’ll be even scared to jump into the car – that’s good.”

For Vandoorne, who will race alongside Fernando Alonso at McLaren next year, Buemi's comments about what is coming are something that make him happier rather than fearful.

“I'm not scared!” he said. “It is good to hear. For me it is difficult to know at this point how the cars are going to be.

“I think Sebastian Buemi is probably a good guy to ask, as he has driven the new cars already – Kimi and Sebastian as well, and Pascal Wehrlein. At the moment I haven't really heard much about it but yeah, it looks all very positive for next year.

“The cars are going to be tougher to drive, are going to be quicker over the lap as well, so I am looking forward to it.”

Super Formula boost

Vandoorne, who won his first Super Formula race last weekend, was placed in the high-downforce Japanese category this year to help better prepare him for 2017.

Speaking about his experience, he said he has gained a lot from competing there rather than sitting on the sidelines for a season.

“Super Formula has definitely a lot of downforce, they have Yokohama tyres as well which are very durable during the race as we can do the whole race on them.

“It is very different to the current F1 cars actually, the way you drive the cars. But I think, as a driver, you get used to that very quickly to jump into new cars. Adapting to a car is something we have been used to since we were kids.

“I think for me to have this year in Super Formula is something good because I have learned to work with the Japanese culture, I've built a better relationship with Honda as well, and have kept racing. It has been great for me this year.

“I am happy I have done it after the win now as well, so I have won in every car before F1. Hopefully there will be more to come in the final two races in Super Formula, so I am very happy that I've had that programme this year.”