Brown says Vandoorne should have "been more aggressive" at McLaren

McLaren boss Zak Brown has insisted that Stoffel Vandoorne should have displayed more character in his two-year spell with the team.

Vandoorne is being replaced at the end of the season by McLaren junior driver Lando Norris - as he takes a new path of his career into Formula E.

The Belgian driver was very highly-rated as a youngster coming to McLaren - but Vandoorne failed to meet the team's expectations in his stint.

Brown wonders whether Vandoorne could have showed more personality - a bit like his team-mate the ever-charasmatic Fernando Alonso.

"Was he too corporate? No, I wouldn't say that," Brown said. "He's a very, very nice guy, but maybe he should have been a bit more aggressive with us. When Fernando doesn't like something about the car, he does not hesitate to raise his voice. Maybe for Stoffel it was more difficult for him to do that in this environment."

Alonso is very complimentary of his team-mate, and regards him as one of the best drivers of his generation.

"Stoffel was unlucky to be with McLaren at this time, with the cars he had at his disposal in these two years," Alonso explained to RTBF. "I think it's a good thing for him to change.

"He won in every category he ever did, but Formula 1 is the only discipline in motor racing where talent is not enough to overcome the weaknesses of the car."