Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMcLaren

Alonso encouraged by McLaren response despite stoppage

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Fernando Alonso was encouraged by McLaren's recovery from the first test but says it is too early to evaluate gains with the Honda power unit.

McLaren's first test ended in frustrating fashion, with Alonso completing just three laps on the final day due to a coolant leak. Having come close to breaking the 100-lap barrier on the opening day of the second test, Alonso was left encouraged by the team's ability to recover to complete significant mileage.

“After the disappointment of not being able to complete much running at the end of last week’s test, it was positive to get so many laps on the board today," Alonso said.

“We tested a number of different configurations and spent a lot of time working on the power unit and collecting data from the aerodynamics. It’s too early to tell a real difference compared to the engine last week, as we focussed today on shorter runs and adjusting the balance and set-up of the car.

“However, today’s full day of running has been a good start to the second test, and has provided us with lots of useful data that we can analyse overnight before Jenson continues the programme tomorrow.”

Honda's head of F1 project, Yusuke Hasegawa, explained the reasons behind one stoppage which saw Alonso bring out the red flag at the end of the morning session.

“We had an unexpected control electronics shutdown just before lunch time, believed to be the cause of a software problem," Hasegawa said. "Apart from that, we were able to run a decent amount of laps to finish the first day of the second test in Barcelona.

“On the power unit side, we tested many different modes of running to prepare for the race, so it was a busy day for the system engineers. As a package, we were able to test different balances of the car and tyres together with the power unit.

“We are looking to perform further detailed checks on the power unit during tomorrow's testing."

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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.