He may be eight places – and 24 points – behind Fernando Alonso in the drivers’ standings, and he may have been outqualfied by his McLaren team mate in the last 11 races, but Stoffel Vandoorne insists the pair are much more closely matched than the stats suggest.

After a tough debut season in Formula 1 last year, McLaren’s switch to Renault power for 2018 was expected to give Vandoorne the platform to better showcase the talent that took him to a dominant GP2 crown in 2015. However, so far this season he has been outshone by double world champion Alonso.

The Belgian has contributed just eight points to McLaren’s tally of 40 as they compete in the race for fourth spot in the constructors' standings. But Vandoorne was quick to underline that he feels his performances have been better than the numbers indicate.

“I don’t think it (the stats) tells the whole story. Obviously the statistics maybe tell that but in reality we are very, very closely matched,” said Vandoorne.

“In terms of where I was last year, I feel in a much better positon this year. Things have not always gone my way - we lacked a bit of luck in some of the occasions. In some occasions Fernando was just the quicker one – which is normal.”

McLaren came into this season full of optimism, and desperate to put their tough three-year spell with Honda behind them. It’s been a slow start to the season, with the MCL33 appearing to lack pace in qualifying in the opening four races of the season.