Stoffel Vandoorne on Friday said there is no guarantee he will step into a F1 race cockpit for 2017.
The Belgian was dominant in GP2 last year and is strongly backed by McLaren, but the British team’s last protege Kevin Magnussen has been left without a place in F1 at all.
Vandoorne, 23, told reporters in a teleconference that it is wrong to compare the two drivers.
"I think we’re both very different and our positions are quite different," he said.
"Kevin was a reserve driver for a season without a lot of track time, and hopefully in my case that will be quite a bit different."
Indeed, Vandoorne is close to securing a Honda-powered race seat in the top Japanese series Super Formula for 2016.
"Then I will still have some racing experience with a new car, hopefully some formula one testing besides that as well, so it will be quite a bit different," he said.
Even so, he said McLaren isn’t promising anything for 2017.
"Nothing has been promised but I’m working my way towards F1, that’s definitely where I want to be," said Vandoorne.
"There are no guarantees for 2017 but it (McLaren) would be a good place for me to be, to race for the team."