Seemingly forever the understudy, in Bahrain last year Stoffel Vandoorne was given his big break, courtesy of Fernando Alonso's horrific accident in Melbourne.

Needless to say the Belgian youngster grabbed the opportunity with both hands, opening McLaren's 2016 points account and joining that elite club of drivers to have scored on their F1 debut.

Now, ahead of his first full season in F1, the youngster can't wait to get started.

"This is the moment I've been waiting for my whole life," he admits. "My preparation has been long, intense and meticulous. I've spent the winter training ferociously hard, I'm fitter now than I've ever been, and I'm raring to get going. This is my opportunity. And I'm ready."

Asked the inevitable question about his hopes for the coming season, he says: "I don't have a specific target. In fact, it's the first time I actually go into a season without really knowing what is possible in terms of results.

"This year is going to be very different," he added. "It's Formula One where constructors fight against each other. We'll have to see how the car will perform.

"The last few years have been not easy for McLaren but it's a period where we are making progress," he continued. "The new regulations gives an opportunity for us to keep building on that and that's my main focus, working very hard with the team. I will use a similar approach as I have done in the junior series."

Looking at the orange and black MCL32, he said: "It's really nice to see a McLaren looking like a proper McLaren. The livery is a great mix of the past and the future: the orange of the 1960s and '70s, but pushed forwards. I really like it.

"As for the car itself, it looks great. There are so many beautiful little details - the gills on the nose hangers, the bargeboards, the front wing - it all looks incredibly well finished and thoroughly thought-out."

Check out our McLaren MCL32 gallery, here.