Lando Norris has said that he is prepared to leave McLaren if the British team has no place for him within a year or so.
This year, McLaren will line up with an unchanged driver pairing of Fernando Alonso alongside Stoffel Vandoorne.
Meanwhile youngster Norris, the new reigning F3 champion, steps up into the reserve role for 2018.
About his future, he told Marca: "You could say it depends on what [Alonso] does.
"So we'll have to wait to see what Fernando wants to do because I think [McLaren] are also happy with Vandoorne."
The 18-year-old will combine his McLaren role with Formula 2 this year.
"I can develop a lot and definitely improve as a driver in 2018," Norris said.
"Obviously my goal is to be at McLaren but if I cannot get a place here, then I'll have to look for other opportunities.
"If they tell me there will be no place for three years then it's obvious that I'll have to go somewhere else, but if it's only a year, I think I'll continue with McLaren."
The new season gets underway in March.