25/02/2013
NEWS STORY
McLaren has responded to claims that its latest standard electronics software is causing problems along the pitlane.
Other than getting to grips with the new Pirelli rubber, a number of teams are understood to have been left frustrated by the latest version of the standard electrics supplied by McLaren Electronics Systems (MES), a subsidiary of McLaren.
Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, which says the problems caused in Barcelona "was like the Middle Ages of motor sport", carries a number of alarming quotes.
"We could not talk to our car," Williams team manager Dickie Stanford is quoted as saying, while Ferrari's engine guru added; "Every day there are new upgrades."
Rivals Red Bull were also keen to go on record regarding the frustration being felt along the pitlane, "I don't think we were alone in that," said the team's head of race engineering, Andy Damerum.
Contacted by Pitpass, Peter van Manen, the Managing Director of MES, said: "There is a new ECU for 2013, replacing the unit that has been running on F1 cars for the past five years. This new unit will be used with the V8 engines this year and will go on to control the new powertrains in 2014 and beyond.
"They are complex units and, despite considerable bench and dyno testing during 2012, there are inevitable teething problems that are revealed and need to be resolved during track testing. The FIA, the teams, the engine manufacturers and McLaren Electronics Systems are all working together during the current pre-season testing to ensure that the systems are in good shape for racing in Melbourne."