McLaren: Jerez testing “disappointing”

McLaren-Honda did not want to let anything show at the end of the Jerez tests, but the Woking team hoped to ride more with thea MP4-30 which has not crossed the 300km mark in four days. Disturbed by various minor problems such as a hydraulic leak or a fuel pump failure, the British team was only able to collect little data during this first winter testing session.

« The number of laps completed (79 laps) and the performance were disappointing, but we were able to complete certain things in our program which demonstrated that our new car was good », admitted Matt Morris, McLaren's engineering director, on Auto Motor und Sport. “We have reduced our aero program because it makes no sense to make changes when you lack driving performance with a basic package. »

Matt Morris remains confident in Mclaren-Honda's ability to progress in terms of reliability. The British team will still have two test sessions in Barcelona (Spain) from February 19 to 22 and from February 26 to March 1 to progress. “The objective is to start the season with the level we had at the end of 2014. However, for this we need to carry out a testing program without major incidents. I think that finishing the Australian GP will be possible."

McLaren-Honda will test a new specification of its Power Unit during the next test session scheduled in just over a week.

Discover our special report on testing F1 of Jerez in the 1998 issue of AUTOhebdo, now available in digital version on all platforms, and on newsstands tomorrow.