Stoffel Vandoorne Can Cement His Status as McLaren's 'Next 1' at Bahrain GP

Stoffel Vandoorne made his much-anticipated Formula One debut on Friday, during free practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix. The 24-year-old McLaren reserve is a last-minute substitute for Fernando Alonso, who was injured in a high-speed crash in Melbourne, Australia, two weeks ago and ruled out of this weekend's race by the FIA following a medical examination.

This isn't Vandoorne's first time in an F1 car; he has tested for McLaren, including at the Pirelli wet-tyre test in January. However, Friday marked his first time driving the team's 2016 challenger and his first time driving during an official grand prix weekend.

Still, expectations are high for the young Belgian. He dominated the GP2 series last year, winning the championship by 160 points, and was second to newly minted Renault man Jolyon Palmer the year before. In 2013, Vandoorne finished second behind Kevin Magnussen in Formula Renault 3.5. That's where those lofty expectations come from.

Uncredited/Associated Press

With a strong showing this weekend, Vandoorne could solidify his presumptive status as the man to fill either Jenson Button's or Alonso's seat in the near future, with both veterans the subject of persistent retirement talk.

Last October, NBC F1 reporter Will Buxton wrote on Twitter that Vandoorne is, "An incredible talent destined for great things":

And on Friday in Bahrain, he did not disappoint. It is dangerous to read too much into practice times, but in the second free practice session (the one with conditions most similar to the race, which takes place in the evening), Vandoorne posted the 11th-fastest lap, albeit nearly three-quarters of a second slower than Button.

That is not necessarily indicative of where he will qualify or finish in the race, but it does help demonstrate that he knows what he is doing in an F1 car. 

"He's done a really good job today and he is quick," Button said, per ESPN F1's Nate Saunders. "If he'd got his first sector together he would have been very quick—second sector was the same time as mine, third sector pretty much the same. He'll be quick. It's good for him and he's doing what the team expected from him."

Alonso was only ruled out of the race on Thursday, so Vandoorne jumped on a plane from Japan (where he is racing in the Super Formula series) to make his debut the next day in a car he had never driven and was immediately close to the pace of his world champion team-mate. Impressive stuff.

Even more meaningful than lap times, though, are the number of laps Vandoorne was able to complete: 55 across both practice sessions.

According to a team press release, Vandoorne said:

"

The most important thing for us was to do a lot of laps; we did a lot of pit stops, practice starts, the operational stuff, really, to cover all the things I have to learn. During my trip here from Japan I had a lot of preparation work and learning to do - the engineers sent me a lot of stuff and I've been through it all - I spent my time well on the plane! There's still a lot of things we have to go through tomorrow and definitely before the race, but so far everything has been very good.

"

Vandoorne's familiarity with the Sakhir circuit should also serve him well this weekend. He won both feature races at the track during his two seasons of GP2, so the place obviously holds some special memories for the Belgian.

"I was on pole for the GP2 race here in 2014, but he won it easily," Palmer told the official F1 website. "He got ahead at the start and blew me away."

For now, Vandoorne knows he may have just this one opportunity to impress his McLaren bosses. (Although Alonso said in the FIA Thursday press conference that there is no guarantee he will be ready for the next race.) Doing so can only improve his chances of landing a race seat when one comes available, even though his profile on the McLaren website already concedes, "it's less a matter of 'if' he'll race in Formula 1 than 'when.'"

If he does end up racing full time for McLaren in the next year or two, he might arrive at the perfect time. Button and Alonso will have endured the lean years, and if the team's current trajectory holds, they could once again be competitive. It's kind of reminiscent of the five generally awful years Jacques Villeneuve spent at BAR, with Button arriving just as the team began fielding a competitive car.

That is getting a bit ahead of ourselves, though. Vandoorne still has his first F1 qualifying session and grand prix to get through. Strong performances on Saturday and Sunday will only build the hype, but perhaps that is inevitable—just a bit earlier than anticipated.

Two weeks ago, speaking of Vandoorne's F1 future, McLaren CEO Ron Dennis said, "His journey to Formula One has been mapped out very carefully, as is always the case with McLaren Young Driver Programme members, and we expect him to be ready in 2017," according to F1's official website (h/t Saunders).

If Vandoorne's Friday practice form holds over the weekend, those expectations will have to be advanced by a few months.

All lap and timing statistics are taken from the FIA's official data.

Follow me on Twitter for updates when I publish new articles and for other (mostly) F1-related news and banter:

Follow @MatthewWalthert