Day 1
Date : Thursday February 26 2015
Driver : Jenson Button
Location : Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (4.655km)
Laps/km : 7/33km
Best lap-time
: 1m31.479s
Programme
: The day kicked off with Jenson conducting some aerodynamic tests, which meant that he only completed a single timed lap.
After just seven laps, Jenson noted a vibration and brought the car back to the pits, where we discovered a hydraulic leak that required a full power-unit change. The time required to complete the change unfortunately meant that our running for the day was over before lunchtime.
What’s next : Jenson resumes testing duties again tomorrow.
Test dates
: Four days (February 26-March 1).
Day 2
Date
: Friday February 27 2015
Driver
: Jenson Button
Location
: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (4.655km)
Laps/km
: 101/466km
Best laptime
: 1m25.590s
Programme : After yesterday’s disappointing start to the final pre-season test, today was our most productive and promising day of the winter.
The team did a fantastic job to replace the power-unit ahead of today’s session, with the team ready to start when the track opened at 0900. The morning was spent carrying out front-wing work and corresponding set-up changes. In the afternoon, the team switched to a long-run programme, evaluating mechanical balance while also carrying out a number of pitstop rehearsals with the race crew.
Shortly before the end of the day, Jenson stopped out on track with an unspecified electrical issue, but had already completed 101 laps – comfortably our longest daily mileage this year.
The lack of running so far this year means we’re still playing catch-up with our planned development programme, but a day like today certainly helps us to make up ground at a more desirable pace.
JENSON BUTTON : “We’ve got a lot of work still do to, but we had a good day today. It’s never easy when you’ve missed out on so much testing, but we’re making good progress, and we got lots of really useful information today.
“We know we’re not the quickest guys out there, but you’ll certainly see a lot of improvement by the time we get to Australia.”
What’s next : Test and reserve driver Kevin Magnussen gets his first taste of MP4-30 tomorrow. Jenson will wrap up the winter test programme on Sunday.
Day 3
Date
: Saturday February 28 2015
Driver
: Kevin Magnussen
Location
: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (4.655km)
Laps/km
: 39/182km
Best lap-time
: 1m25.225s
Programme : Test and reserve driver Kevin Magnussen deputised for Fernando Alonso in Barcelona today, completing a useful test programme – as well as providing an always-useful additional opinion on the car.
Kev quickly got to grips with the car, his first outing in MP4-30, but his programme was cut short by an oil leak.
Yasuhisa Arai
Honda R&D senior managing officer – chief officer of motorsport
“The power unit systems are all functioning well, and the spec is race-ready. We just need more practice on race simulation, and to improve our reliability.
“We still have strong ambitions to improve, and tomorrow we’ll be tackling durability issues.”
Kevin Magnussen
“This year’s car is really different to last year’s. It feels much more consistent; it’s more predictable and driver-friendly. It’s not fast enough yet, but it feels like a solid baseline, and there’s obviously still plenty more to come. I think McLaren-Honda should have a good car if they continue in this direction.
“It’s nice to be back in the car. I always enjoy driving new cars, and this is a car I haven’t driven before. I can see the work we did last year has gone into this car.
“It’s good working with Honda, they’re a very enthusiastic team, you can feel they have a desire to succeed – they’re here to win. It will take time, but that’s what they’re here to do.”
What’s next
: Jenson wraps up the test tomorrow.
Day 4
Date
: Sunday March 1 2015
Driver
: Jenson Button
Location
: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (4.655km)
Laps/km
: 39/182km
Best laptime
: 1m25.327s
Programme : The curtain closes on McLaren-Honda’s pre-season preparations. It was a slow start to the morning, but Jenson managed to put some laps on the board during the day. While our test programme has been largely affected by unreliability, and by a lack of running, there’s plenty of optimism that the performance foundations for the partnership are strong, and that development will continue strongly – especially during the early part of the season.
ERIC
BOULLIER
– McLaren-Honda racing director
“Looking back at the last four weeks, our winter test programme has been difficult. However, that wasn’t entirely unexpected: this time last year, we saw many teams in a similar situation when they introduced new power units for the first time. This year, we also had the added complexity that very tight packaging brings.
“In overview, the lack of mileage means we won’t be as ready as we’d have liked, but we can take away the positive that all the running and data gathering we’ve done have confirmed that we’re achieving the targets we set ourselves.
“Even if it’s likely to be a difficult start to the season, we know we can develop hard and fast, and that we’ll surely unlock the huge potential that lies within the McLaren-Honda MP4-30.”
What’s next : That’s a wrap for testing. We’re all off to Australia next week.
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