McLaren, Vandoorne trains on the simulator while waiting for Alonso to receive the OK from the doctors for China

Last weekend was a great weekend for Stoffel Vandoorne. In Bahrain, an event that marked his debut in the premier class of motorsport, the Belgian - called up hastily by McLaren to replace the convalescent Fernando Alonso - ran an excellent test on the Sakhir track which allowed him to set the first career point.

In China, Alonso should return to the wheel of his McLaren number 14 (in the last few hours the Spaniard has published a photo on his social profiles in which he is intent on training in preparation for his return to the track). In these cases, however, the condition is mandatory until official confirmation arrives in this regard.

In the meantime Vandoorne is in Woking, where he is busy with simulator work in case fate reserves him another opportunity to shine. Even if the McLaren test driver himself does not have high hopes for the Shanghai race: "I'm honest. It will be difficult for me to be in China as an official driver – Stoffel's admission -,  but I know well what my role is within the team this year. I learned a lot from the experience in Bahrain and I think it was very positive, even though I wasn't able to do any simulator tests previously."

Piero Ladisa

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