Day 1:
The second round of Formula 1 pre-season testing kicked off today in Barcelona, Spain. The day ended early for McLaren Honda after a faulty seal on the MGU-K caused a terminal Power Unit failure. The day was not without a bright spot, however, as the team clearly turned up the engine on the MP4-30 which registered a fast lap of 1:28.182 with Jenson Button behind the wheel. This lap time is now within 3 seconds of the fast lap set by Pastor Maldonado in the Mercedes-powered Lotus. We may or may not see the team on track tomorrow as they scramble to implement redesigned components to replace the one(s) that failed. For more on the issue check out this story on www.autosport.com and be sure to let us know what you think here on TOV Motorsports.
Day 2:
Day two was marked by more mixed results for McLaren Honda. On the plus side, Fernando Alonso managed to pilot the MP4-30 to a best lap time of 1:25.961 which is now just 1.3s off the pace of today’s leader, Daniel Ricciardo, who posted a fast lap of 1:24.574. The downside of the day is the team managed just 59 laps which is the lowest of all 10 cars on-track; their overall totals continue to lag the rest of the field.
Day 3:
McLaren Honda suffered more disappointment on day on Day 3 of Barcelona testing. Despite installing a redesigned MGU-K seal, which caused serious issues on Day 1, the problem recurred and stunted both lap times and total laps completed as the team had to work around the issue and run with less assistance from the MGU-K system. A “re-engineered” part is said to be on the way for the final day of testing tomorrow. Jenson Button completed just 21 laps with a best time of 1:29.151 which trails the 1:24.348 set by Pastor Maldonado in the Lotus by a significant margin. For more on the MGU-K issue check out this story on www.autosport.com and be sure to let us know what you think here on TOV Motorsports.
Day 4:
The final day of testing was marked with an unfortunate accident while Alonso was driving the MP4-30. Following the incident, McLaren has issued the following statement:
“Today at 12:35
CET
, while testing at the Circuit de Catalunya (Barcelona), during the fourth and final day of the current test, Fernando Alonso’s McLaren-Honda car left the track at Turn Three, causing the right-hand side of his car to strike the wall.
“Fernando was driven to the circuit’s medical centre where the circuit’s doctors gave him first aid.
“He was conscious and spoke with the doctors.
“However, as per usual procedure in such circumstances, he was then airlifted to hospital where he is undergoing precautionary checks.
“We will issue a further update in due course.”
For more details follow this link to BBC Sport . If more information becomes available we will bring it to you here on TOV Motorsports. Before the shunt Alonso managed 20 laps with a best time of 1:27.956.
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