MCL32 is "a proper McLaren" - Vandoorne

McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne appeared highly enthusiastic at the team's 2017 car launch on Friday, describing the striking new MCL32 car, with its orange and black paint job, as "a proper McLaren".

The Belgian replaces Jenson Button as a full-time racer this season, and was clearly impressed by both the livery and design of his new machine, in which he will be hoping to make a good impression against his world champion team-mate Fernando Alonso.

"It's really nice to see a McLaren looking like a proper McLaren," Vandoorne said. "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."

Vandoorne was evidently eager to start work in the car - the first pre-season test in Barcelona begins on Monday, giving him only a short time to wait before he can get behind the wheel.

"This is the moment I've been waiting for my whole life", he said of the season ahead. "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."

Mason Hawker