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ABU DHABI, UAE - On Tuesday (Nov 26) Wheels24 reported that McLaren's test debut of its new Honda 'power unit' at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi did not go as planned.
Before departing Abu Dhabi, McLaren racing director Eric Boullier told Spanish TV Movistar his team had "no reason to panic" after the disastrous test.
McLaren used an interim 2014 car at the post-2014 Abu Dhabi test, fitted with the new Honda 'power unit', as the partners prepare for a collaboration in 2015. It is expected that Fernando Alonso will be its star driver.
ENGINE TEST FLOPS
Rookie youngster Stoffel Vandoorne, charged with driving duty for the two days, didn't complete even one timed lap.
Honda's F1 chief Yasuhisa Arai insisted he was not worried: "The positive is that we know that, basically, everything works as it should. The energy recovery works. What did not work was the electronics but I maintain that the engine itself is good.
"The power units are incredibly complex. We need to find out in detail what went wrong but that is the job of the engineer - to solve problems."
NEXT TEST AT JEREZ
Officially, the next time a Honda engine will be run on track will be in February 2015 on the Jerez track in Spain. By then it will be only a few weeks before the performance specification is "frozen" for the 2015 season by the governing International Automobile Federation.
Speed Week reports it is possible that the interim car would run before the official winter test season during another "filming day".
Arai continued: "We believe we have done our homework and the hardware is healthy. Four months until the 2015 Australian GP will be enough to be fit for the season.
"We'll strive to have a good place on the grid in Melbourne."