Vandoorne and de Vries are the official reserves for the factory team and can also be used by McLaren if necessary. Both drivers have previous connections with the Woking team.
However, calendar collisions mean that neither man is available for reserve duty on some weekends.
McLaren has therefore signed a contract with the Sky F1 expert and former Force India driver di Resta, who was also on standby for the 70th anniversary GP at Silverstone last year.
The Scot drove for Force India for four seasons from 2010 to 2013. His last F1 start was at Williams in Hungary in 2017, when he replaced Felipe Massa at the last minute.
“Our main focus is on this agreement with Mercedes,” said McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl.
“As you know what we would have had at Silverstone last year, we also have a good relationship with Paul di Resta, who also has a super license.
“So we also have an agreement with him to step in if the requirement is there. So we are prepared for different scenarios.”
Vandoorne and de Vries will take turns as Mercedes reserves, and that will determine which one may be available for McLaren. Vandoorne is on duty for Imola this weekend even though he is not there.
“Of course we would have to do that together with Mercedes,” said Seidl. “Depending on who is actually ready for Mercedes for the weekend in question.”
Aston Martin recently confirmed that he will have access to Nico Hulkenberg, who made three appearances for the former Racing Point team last year.
When asked whether the German was also an option for McLaren, Seidl said: “In the end we will have to rely on Mercedes again. We just have to keep track of what Mercedes sets up for the different weekends. But our main focus is clearly on Mercedes.” Stoffel and Nyck. “
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