Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMcLaren

McLaren names Barcelona test line-up

McLaren has named its driver line-up for the second pre-season test at Barcelona next week.

Following a disappointing first test at Jerez for the new Honda-powered MP4-30, which completed just 79 laps in total, the team heads to the Circuit de Catalunya hoping to get more mileage with its power unit. Honda expects to have fixed a number of issues to allow more running, with McLaren racing director Eric Boullier keen to see more of the potential of the "amazing" MP4-30.

While Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button drove on alternate days at the first test, McLaren has opted for a different approach at Barcelona. Button will drive on the first two days, while Alonso then takes over for days three and four.

With the test taking place from February 19-22, that means Alonso will be in the car on both Saturday and Sunday, allowing Spanish fans a better opportunity of seeing the double world champion in action for his new team.

The final test will also take place at Barcelona from February 26-March 1.

Click here for the full final day gallery from the Jerez test

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.