McLaren not worried after his difficult day

During the off-season, Fernando Alonso indicated that he hoped for a studious and simpler winter than the last three spent confronting the reliability problems of the Honda Power Unit in the different single-seaters McLaren.

This Tuesday, however, seemed like a “repeat” for the Woking clan with a battery problem and a hydraulic leak on the Stoffel Vandoorne MCL33.

Limited to 38 laps, the Belgian and McLaren missed the opportunity to accumulate the kilometers in weather conditions that had become mild again in Catalonia. “We had some stops on track, and we worked on each one to make sure we are well prepared for tomorrow, Vandoorne analyzes.

The types of problems we had weren't particularly serious, but it took us a long time to fix them, so we weren't able to ride as much as we expected. The conditions this afternoon were quite difficult due to the wind, so the runs we accomplished were not that representative. »

Optimism remains in order

Wednesday will see Fernando Alonso return to the seat of the MC33 to try to confirm that the car powered by engine Renault only had one “without” day this Tuesday.

British officials indeed remain confident, despite this delicate recovery. “It wasn't the day we were hoping to have, but despite that, we're not too concerned about the issues we faced today, explains Eric Boullier, competition director of McLaren Racing.

This is obviously not the expected productivity, but the issues – a battery issue and a hydraulic leak – are ones we hope and expect during testing, in order to properly prepare for the upcoming season.

We're here to test, and that's what happens sometimes. It's not ideal, and we would have liked more time on track, but we are working, we are learning from it, and we will return to the track tomorrow with more information. »