His teammate Fernando Alonso will start eighth, with the Belgian one place behind him, but Vandoorne had been fifth fastest in Q1 and sixth in Q2.

"We've been competitive since the start and we came here expecting to have both cars in Q3, so we're reasonably happy," Vandoorne told NBC Sports.

"Q1, Q2 was very strong for us and maybe we missed a little in Q3 to make a step up.

"Hopefully we can carry that forward tomorrow, because our race pace was looking quite strong. On a street circuit it's always difficult to overtake, so hopefully with a good start and some mayhem in front we can benefit from that."

Alonso added that a double points finish is now the target – something that McLaren has only achieved once this season.

"We knew this circuit could have a good performance for our car," Alonso told Sky Sports F1. "The aim is to be in the points with both cars tomorrow.

"To do that we had to be in Q3 today with both cars, so let's say the first part of the job is done. We need to complete the job tomorrow, but so far so good.

"Here, as other street circuits, the start and the first lap will dictate more or less the positions. So maximum attack at the start and the first corner, after that hold the position."