Alonso: Vandoorne closer to me than Raikkonen was

Fernando Alonso has defended the performances of Stoffel Vandoorne, saying his McLaren team-mate is not as far behind him as Kimi Raikkonen when the Spaniard was a Ferrari driver. Alonso has outqualified Vandoorne in all 11 grands prix so far in 2018, as well as finishing ahead when both have seen the chequered flag.

Vandoorne arrived in Formula 1 with a hefty pedigree as 2015 GP2 champion, but McLaren's wretched car has not brought the best out of him.

Partnering a two-time world champion like Alonso has not helped Vandoorne's cause as he has been comprehensively outperformed, however, the veteran says he feels closer to the Belgian in terms of performance than he has in the past.

Alonso joked: "He always be a little bit behind. It's difficult to beat me!

"If you see previous team-mates, they were a lot further [behind] than Stoffel. In 2014 it was six or seven tenths to Kimi every race. It's less than that now.

"He arrived [in F1] in a difficult car with some difficulties last year and this year as well. But he's OK, and he will be very close in performance as soon as the car is delivering normal performance.

"[There's] nothing really to say to him. And for his reputation, you just need to wait and see, or see the results before Silverstone, or last year, in terms of qualifying."

Alonso took the remarkable step after Vandoorne qualified last at the German Grand Prix to reveal fundamental issues had been found on the Belgian's car that were not present on his own.

"We, as a team, are trying to find the problem, and to have both cars in the same condition with the same performance," Alonso added.

"He has shown the talent already, there's no need to prove anything."