DTM champion Gary Paffett rues missed opportunity with McLaren in 2007 admitting he was "in the best place possible at the worst time".

Having won the 2005 DTM title, Paffett revealed that he would not defend the title but would instead, following the departure of Kimi Raikkonen to Ferrari, join McLaren as test driver alongside Pedro de la Rosa.

For the south Londoner, the objective was clear, a season of testing duties and a move up to a full race seat in 2007.

Unfortunately, there was the little matter of Lewis Hamilton, already part of the McLaren family and now looking to step up following title-winning seasons in the Formula 3 Euro Series and GP2.

"I was close," Paffett told Italy's f1web.it. "At the end of 2006 I'd had a good full year of testing and a seat became available alongside (newly appointed) Fernando Alonso.

"Unfortunately for me Lewis, who had been with McLaren since he was eight had just won the GP2 series, was a shoe-in for the seat so long as he tested well in the (F1) car. He got up to speed very quickly and got the drive that we expected him to get. I was just in the best place possible at the worst time."

With McLaren's long association with Mercedes at an end, in December it was revealed that the 33-year-old was leaving the Woking outfit. In those nine years as an F1 test driver what did he feel were the biggest changes?

"With regards to the cars we had a massive change in downforce level for 2009 which took a lot of getting used to," he admits. "Two of the other very interesting developments were the F-Duct, developed by McLaren, and the KERS system.

"But without doubt the one thing that was the biggest game changer was the blown diffuser. This changed the way you drove the car a lot and there was so much time to be found when getting it right."

2015 sees McLaren reunite with Honda, and like many, the Briton feels the Woking outfit and its partner faces a difficult year ahead.

"The last time McLaren and Honda teamed up it went pretty well," he says. "But it’s difficult to know. Honda have some catching up to do to match Mercedes which isn't going to be easy, and McLaren will also have to improve the chassis as last year’s competitiveness wasn't what you would expect from them."

With only a couple of teams having announced their test drivers, does he believe there might still be a role for him in F1?

"We will have to see," he admits. "My chances of racing in F1 are very slim but I love the development side and may look to get a role with another team helping them develop the car. I haven't even started really looking yet but I wouldn't rule it out some time in the future."

Talking of the future, the Briton, like many, is no fan of the FIA's plan for a points based system in terms of the issuing of super-licences, for a start the decision not to include DTM as one of the series which counts.

"I agree with the theory," he told Reuters. "But omitting certain championships, and especially the DTM, from the super licence points system is quite a flaw.

"When I won the championship in 2005, that was my third year in DTM and I had a good chance of getting a drive in F1 in 2006," he continued. "With this system, that would not have happened because I'd have done three years in the DTM and I wouldn't have scored any points for the super licence.

"It's a great learning championship for drivers to come into," he said of DTM. "You are representing a manufacturer, racing cars that are at a very high level of performance, downforce and power and are racing with drivers of very high quality. So what you learn in DTM is a very high level. I think the (licence) system needs some work, quite a lot of refining I would say."