MEDLAND: The other side of the McLaren coin

It has been a crucial few weeks for McLaren. Following its decision to split with Honda, approval finally came after the Italian Grand Prix for a switch to Renault for the next three years.

A busy and stressful period of negotiations, contract signings and eventually the announcement followed. Plenty of questions were asked as a result. Is Renault a big enough step forward? What if Honda makes big improvements over the winter? And one of the biggest ones: Does this mean Fernando is staying?

Alonso, of course, has been very vocal about the Honda situation and his desire to see McLaren switch power unit supplier, but he's not the only driver that the change has a big impact on.

"Probably Fernando is a little bit more emotional when he's in the car," Stoffel Vandoorne says after confirmation of the McLaren-Renault deal. "I'm always very cool when I'm racing. I've never really been like that in any series. Even when there's bad things happening during a race, I've always kept my cool and not really been moaning about it, let's say.

"Of course internally every now and then you have to knock on the table and say what you have to say, but there's different ways of doing that."

Far from criticizing Alonso, Vandoorne is instead explaining why the Spaniard outwardly appeared to be more of a catalyst for the McLaren-Honda split. The Belgian rookie has been less outspoken, but he says that's his choice rather than a sign of his teammate's status within the team.

"No I don't think it's any different between us," Vandoorne replies when asked if McLaren gravitates toward Alonso more. "Lately my performances have been very, very strong. I've been matching Fernando, and on a couple of occasions been better than Fernando, so I think it's all going very well.

"I'm very happy with the team, with the way everyone is behaving, with the way the car is developing as well," he says. "For me, it's an exciting future. I'm feeling much more comfortable in the car now as well, performing every session that I'm out there, and now for me it's just a positive to be next to Fernando, because if I can keep being up there with him and be faster than him, then it's very good for my own reputation.

"The only [improvement] would be if we were fighting at the top – this would be even better, I think."

Fighting at the top is no guarantee, but McLaren is confident the newly-announced engine supply deal will ensure that the gap to the front is much smaller next year. For Vandoorne, that would represent solid progression after a year that started off slowly, but has picked up momentum.

"I think it's positive news for everyone – for McLaren, for Renault, for Formula 1," he says. "I think it's very exciting. After all the talks that there have been in the past, it's good to have confirmation. Everything is now settled for our future. But there are still six races left this year, which we still have to treat as well as we can, and really try to make the most out of.

"For sure this is a first big step forward, let's say. I think for the short term it will be a very positive one. Our car has been performing very well this season. We've not had the reliability and the power we were hoping to have this year, and this has hampered our results and our mileage – especially at the start of the season.

"Next year, hopefully everything will be more stable, the results will be more consistent and everything should hopefully be a step forward. So I'm very excited for that. And also I want to fight at the front; that's where I want to be."

The lack of mileage is a key point for Vandoorne. The 25-year-old did not score a point until the Hungarian Grand Prix and was failing to hit the heights expected of him after an outstanding junior career, but after two top-10 results in four races, he feels he has turned a corner.

"It's definitely not been an easy start to the season," he said. "Of course I was hoping for much more in terms of results and the positions we would be, but it hasn't turned out to be that way. In the beginning it was not easy to deal with that in terms of going to a race weekend and kind of knowing you have almost no chance to finish in the points, but it also has enabled me to focus on different things, to find different motivations every time that I go to a weekend.

"Now when we are a bit more competitive, also with Fernando next to me who is pushing very hard, you set yourself different challenges. I think lately it has been positive, I've been very motivated going to all the races and trying to make the most out of it.

"It's both that races have come together a bit more in terms of myself adapting better to the car, but also my relationship with my engineers [has improved], so they can make the car better suit my driving style as well. So everything in that perspective has come much more together – but I think it's also because of the track time that we missed at the start of the season that we maybe lacked a bit of performance.

"I have a different driving style to Fernando and what Jenson [Button] had, but now the team is completely on top of that. They know exactly what I want from the car, I know exactly what I need as well, and lately the performance has just been very strong."

Amid the uncertainty of the McLaren-Honda partnership, it has been hard for Vandoorne to shine. But the team publicly backed him with an extension of his contract before his home race in Belgium, and his form has continued to pick up.

Vandoorne himself sees the Renault deal as particularly crucial for him personally, as he hopes the improvement in performance will put the team back at the competitive level he had become accustomed to in the past.

"You always need to have some high hopes," he says, "Otherwise, it wouldn't be nice to be here if you don't think there is an opportunity. I think we probably won't be quick enough to win the championship next year - we have to be realistic - but we should hopefully be in a position where, when there is a bit of mayhem happening in front, we take the opportunity.

"What will be possible is difficult to say, but of course I hope we can fight more regularly for some top positions and at least be in the mix.

"It's where I used to be, let's say. I've been racing at the front in every series I've raced in, managing to win races, to win championships nearly everywhere, and for sure where we race now is different than racing at the front. I think it's been a learning experience this year to be in the position where I am... but I'd much rather prefer to be at the front."