Even though a loss of cooling water pressure forced them to sit out the afternoon today in Jerez, McLaren-Honda got some much-needed progress with its new MP4-30.
Fernando Alonso logged 32 laps this morning before he spotted the water pressure issues on an out lap according to the team. The Honda power unit was then removed for inspection, signaling the end of the Spaniard’s run in this first Formula One preseason test of 2015.
Jenson Button is slated to drive the MP4-30 in tomorrow’s final day of the test. The team said in a release that today’s problems are fixable and that Button will be ready to go.
Jerez has not been especially kind for the Woking gang so far. Alonso only ran six laps on Sunday, most of them being single-lap installation runs, before a technical issue curtailed his day. On Monday, another problem marred Button’s first afternoon in the car and he too only ran six laps.
So while Day 3 ended sooner than they would have liked, the team was still pleased with having gotten a substantial run out of the car.
“This morning, it was a relief to see the car get out of the garage at 9am, and run without problems for several hours,” team racing director Eric Boullier said. “Fernando’s comments were very positive, too: he said the car was reacting well to changes, and felt stable.
“Operationally, we’ve already covered everything in our program, but what’s even more positive is that we’ve been able to carry out a number of longer runs. They’ve shown us that the car doesn’t have any conceptual or architectural issues.
“It’s good to see that the car is effectively able to run straight out of the box, without any major issues. That’s the most positive point of the day.”
Alonso was also positive on Twitter, calling this morning “encouraging.” He later tweeted the following: