02/03/2017
NEWS STORY
McLaren-Honda completed a second consecutive full programme of running on the fourth and final day of the first pre-season test. Like yesterday, the team worked through a number of different set-up configurations and aero tests in combinations of shorter and longer stints.
Added to the mix was the scheduled wet tyre testing, which enabled Stoffel and the team to experiment with both types of wet tyre as well as running from wet to dry conditions. The team also completed a series of live pit stops in preparation for the first race in Melbourne.
Stoffel did 67 laps, and the team ended the session having executed all of our planned test programme for the day.
Stoffel Vandoorne: "I'm really pleased both Fernando and I were able to spend a full day in the car with no major issues, get a good amount of valuable mileage under our belt and complete our scheduled run plans on both days. We've tried a lot of different things, worked on various set-ups, and we're learning a lot about the handling and characteristics of the car with every lap, which has been very useful for me.
"The addition of the wet testing was also interesting as it was the first opportunity for us to try out a wet weather set-up with the new tyres and under the new regulations. I felt comfortable in the car, even in the wet, which has provided us with valuable data and given me a good feel for how the car reacts in varying track conditions.
"We had a difficult start to the week, but I want to say thank you to the team for all their hard work over the past four days. We've managed a solid couple of days' running and made good progress, and I'm really proud of the team effort to ensure we could make the most of our track time. I hope we can continue this momentum and have a strong week at the next test."
Eric Boullier: "The first couple of days of the first test were certainly challenging, but I salute the efforts of everyone at McLaren-Honda, who have pulled together and worked hard to enable us to complete some solid and much-needed mileage, putting us in good stead over the weekend in preparation for next week.
"The mileage and test plan we have completed has provided us with a great amount of data that our engineers are already busy number crunching and analysing, which will help shape our run programme for the next test and allow us to move forward with our development.
"We were able to make use of today's scheduled wet running to learn a lot about the new 2017 tyres and our car's strengths and weaknesses. Although mitigating any risks on a wet track was key, we made use of all conditions to test out various configurations of wet-to-dry set-up and gather useful information for the season ahead.
"Over the weekend we'll put all of our learning to good use and return to the track next Tuesday morning aiming to continue where we left off, and get some more valuable mileage on the board so we can push forward."
Yusuke Hasegawa: "Following on from a much more productive day of running yesterday, today we were able to complete our testing programme with no major issues. Our main aim was to continue testing the durability of the power unit.
"We have recovered our programme after the track time we lost, and worked through all of our planned schedule over the past two days. The PU from day two is now with our engineers at Honda R&D in Sakura, Japan, to investigate the root cause of the problem we encountered.
"The McLaren-Honda team has worked incredibly hard this week, and although it hasn't always been easy, we collected very important data to help us understand the car and PU package better.
"We will now prepare for the second and final pre-season test, during which we hope to continue collecting valuable information for the first race in Melbourne."