McLaren third driver Stoffel Vandoorne says he could immediately tell the team have made positive gains with the MP4-31 compared to the last time he drove it in Spain.
Vandoorne got the chance to get behind the wheel of the McLaren-Honda on Wednesday, taking over from Fernando Alonso on the second day of the second in-season test at Silverstone.
It's the Belgian's first experience of the car since Barcelona in May. Since then Honda have introduced two power unit upgrades as well as numerous aerodynamic upgrades from the team, and according to Vandoorne, the difference is not only proven in their data, but also in the way the car handles.
"It is a long time since I drove the car so every time you get back in an F1 car it feels quite fast naturally," he said.
"The car feels quite different in a positive way from Barcelona. Again when I got in the car it felt pretty positive straightaway and that is always a good situation when you can push straightaway. It is coming along nicely."
Though he warned McLaren are some way from where they need to be, adding: "From the data we’ve got we’ve made some progress but we are still not at the level we want to be so we will keep pushing on.
With Wednesday marking Vandoorne's final chance to drive the MP4-31, he stressed the importance of young drivers getting time in current cars before graduating to Formula 1.
"As usual I try to benefit from these days. For a young driver there aren't a lot of opportunities to get in the car so every day I get I need to take the benefit of it and try to do as many laps as possible."
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