McLaren racing director Eric Boullier believes Kevin Magnussen will be well-placed to get an F1 drive with another team in 2016.

Magnussen will take a step back next season after the team opted to retain Jenson Button to partner Fernando Alonso, a decision finally confirmed on Thursday morning.

The Dane will, however, remain at Woking as the squad's official race and test driver and Boullier reckons the experience will benefit the 22-year-old as he looks to gain a race seat the following year.

"We can understand he is disappointed not to be racing next year, but the best we can offer him is obviously to be part of the family still and the McLaren-Honda project is huge," Boullier said.

"There is enough room for him to keep on learning, especially from these two guys [Alonso and Button] by attending the races and also by being on another side having now the experience of one year [as a race driver].

"I don't know if we can give him some chances to test, maybe. He is going to keep contact with the racing cars though, let's say and I am pretty sure benefitting from this experience will help to raise his profile.

"He had a very good year. As a rookie driver he did a very good job and there is no reason he should not be back racing in F1 sometime."

Alonso and Button both have multi-year deals and that means McLaren may have to plant Magnussen in another team in 2016.

Quizzed on if that is a possibility, especially if Honda end up supplying other teams in twelve months time, Boullier replied: "Maybe. It could be a possibility, but there is no discussion yet.

"Kevin definitely has 100 percent of our support. He has more chance than anybody else... to be in F1 in 2016."

Meanwhile, asked if he is free to do some other events in 2015, like Le Mans, Boullier noted: "I guess he could do this. But being part of this huge project, McLaren-Honda, we cannot afford to have any conflict with [other] brands, so that is going to limit his choices."