Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMcLaren

Honda needs to redesign component

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Honda has confirmed it will need to redesign a component that stopped its running early on the opening day of the second test.

Jenson Button completed 21 laps in the MP4-30 before having to stop, with Honda discovering an issue with the MGU-K. With a faulty seal the cause of the issue, Honda's Yasuhisa Arai says the part will need to be redesigned, with Saturday the earliest a replacement will be ready.

“We had to stop running this morning after discovering a faulty seal on the MGU-K," Arai said. "That faulty part then caused an issue that requires full replacement of the power-unit - and the time needed to make those changes effectively ends today’s programme.

“We’ll need to run a re-designed component to avoid a potential repeat of the problem. Unfortunately, we won’t be in possession of that updated part until Saturday, which means that we may face the same problem when we run again tomorrow.

“Such issues are all part of testing, but we’ll make the best changes we can overnight, and will plan for a productive day of running - with Fernando behind the wheel - tomorrow.

"Hopefully, with a bespoke solution ready for Saturday, both drivers will have an opportunity to get some useful laps under their belts, with Jenson driving on Saturday, and Fernando concluding the test on Sunday.”

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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.