Images from the second pre-season test, featuring the McLaren-Honda MP4-30 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button shared driver duties over the 4 test days.

Programme

Given the running issues that affected us throughout the first three days, the decision was taken last night to split seat-time for the final day of the programme. The aim was for Fernando to run in the morning, with Jenson taking over after lunch in order to more fully acquaint himself with MP4-30.

Unfortunately, we were unable to complete the day’s programme after Fernando suffered an accident at Turn Three just before lunchtime. Although conscious, and able to speak with the circuit’s medical team, he was flown to a nearby hospital, where he was given CT and MRI scans as precautionary measures. He was uninjured, but will remain in hospital overnight.

Given the lack of remaining track time, and the lengthy and thorough procedures needed to check the car and power-unit after such an impact, the team decided that it was not worth hurrying the rebuilding of the car in order to resume testing before close of play.

We now turn our attention to next week’s final pre-season test in Barcelona.

TODAY’S UNOFFICIAL TESTING TIMES

ERIC BOULLIER – Racing director, McLaren-Honda

“Fernando’s accident was just one of those things that happens in testing. Fortunately, he’s fine, but was concussed during the accident, which therefore required an overnight stay in hospital as a precaution. That’s normal practice after a concussion. Inevitably, some media reports have sought to exaggerate the severity of the incident – it was just a normal testing accident.

“While the car wasn’t particularly badly damaged, it was enough of an impact to warrant quite a lengthy check of the gearbox and power unit systems. Given the time needed to carry out such an analysis, we decided to bring the curtain down on our test a few hours earlier than anticipated.

“It’s been a tough week for the whole team, but we’ll be back, and pushing harder than ever, in Barcelona next week.”

What’s next

The final test of the winter, which also takes place in Barcelona, and kicks off next Thursday (February 26).

Test dates

Four days (February 19-22).

Programme

A disappointing day. The damp weather pushed the emphasis onto aerodynamic testing, but this was cut short by a failure of the revised seal introduced today in a bid to resolve the week’s MGU-K issues.

To compound a tricky day, Jenson suffered a punctured Intermediate tyre during a practice pitstop, coming to a halt before the end of the pitlane.

JENSON BUTTON

“Yesterday wasn’t bad, with more mileage and lots of data gathered, but today’s been tricky – it hasn’t been my day. We had a similar problem to the one we faced on Thursday, with the faulty MGU-K seal, so the afternoon running was limited to aero testing and pitstop practice.

“I still can’t comment on where the car will be when everything is running smoothly, as I haven’t had the chance to run it properly without meeting problems. Having said that, I feel like there’s definitely nothing wrong with the car or any stand-out issues with driveability. You jump in the car and everything feels good.

“Hopefully, our problems will be solved sooner rather than later, but tomorrow is still likely to be a reasonably difficult day. There’s a lot for us to improve at the moment – we’ve still got five days of testing left, so hopefully they’ll be five good days.”

TODAY’S UNOFFICIAL TESTING TIMES

What’s next

Final day of this test. Tomorrow, the team will try another fix to the on-going MGU-K issue. With the lack of mileage recorded so far this week, the programme for tomorrow remains relatively open-ended.

Test dates

Four days (February 19-22).

Programme

The halfway point of the winter test season – six days completed; six remaining – and, in terms of laps completed, this was our most productive day so far. Nonetheless, there’s still plenty of work left to do to ready MP4-30 and the Honda power unit for the opening day of practice at the Australian Grand Prix – exactly three weeks away.

FERNANDO ALONSO

“We definitely had a better day today than yesterday, and not only managed to complete some runs, but also started running at 09:00 and finished at 17:45, which showed promise. The extent of our running also meant that we could finally begin to evaluate the potential of the car.

“Obviously, we’re still running with some limitations on the engine, but the car definitely felt better than it did in Jerez. On every lap, we discover something new, and we encounter different issues, but that’s to be expected with a project that’s in such an early state of development.

“We’re now exactly halfway through the test programme, and we need to make some progress. There are positives from the day, but we did the fewest laps of any team today, and need to raise our game and learn as fast as we can. Australia is approaching fast.”

ERIC BOULLIER – McLaren-Honda racing director

“It’s been good to put some laps on the board– we’ve pushed through the programme today, and achieved more than we anticipated.

“Our running today was relatively smooth, and we’re starting to catch up with our programme. We’re happy with what we’re doing – we’re still not looking at outright performance as we still have a long list of systems checks to evaluate. The car is reacting as we expected, but it’s too soon to go into a race simulation, and, as a result, too soon to be sure of our overall performance.

YASUHISA ARAI – Honda R&D senior managing officer – chief officer of motorsport


“Today’s programme has been productive: we were able to undertake some useful practical running with the power unit, and I’m satisfied with what we achieved. We covered off today’s list of planned test items, and we’re ready to homologate the power unit at the end of next week 

“We still haven’t seen the unit running at its maximum potential, but I think we’re progressing steadily. We’re getting closer and closer to Melbourne, where I think we’ll be in better shape.

“For the final two days of this Barcelona test, we’ll be aiming to push things a little bit further in order to get a more accurate reflection of the package’s behaviour and performance in race conditions.”

TODAY’S UNOFFICIAL TESTING TIMES

What’s next

Jenson’s back in the cockpit.

Test dates

Four days (February 19-22).

Programme

The team kicked off this week’s Barcelona test with a series of short runs to evaluate some mechanical balance changes. After concluding the third run of the morning, and with the team getting into the programme, a broken seal on the MGU-K caused a problem that ended running for the day.

Despite the stoppage and the limited running, Jenson was upbeat about the car’s balance, handling and predictability.

YASUHISA ARAI – Honda R&D senior managing officer – chief officer of motorsport

“We had to stop running this morning after discovering a faulty seal on the MGU-K. That faulty part then caused an issue that requires full replacement of the power-unit – and the time needed to make those changes effectively ends today’s programme.

“We’ll need to run a re-designed component to avoid a potential repeat of the problem. Unfortunately, we won’t be in possession of that updated part until Saturday, which means that we may face the same problem when we run again tomorrow.

“Such issues are all part of testing, but we’ll make the best changes we can overnight, and will plan for a productive day of running – with Fernando behind the wheel – tomorrow. 

“Hopefully, with a bespoke solution ready for Saturday, both drivers will have an opportunity to get some useful laps under their belts, with Jenson driving on Saturday, and Fernando concluding the test on Sunday.”

TODAY’S UNOFFICIAL TESTING TIMES

What’s next

Second day of the test – first day in the car for Fernando. With the prospect of limited mileage, the team will look at undertaking some time-intensive bigger set-up changes in a bid to maximise learning about the car’s balance – so expect lengthy breaks between runs throughout the day.

Test dates

Four days (February 19-22).

Images from the second pre-season test, featuring the McLaren-Honda MP4-30 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button shared driver duties over the 4 test days.

Statement from McLaren-Honda

Barcelona, February 23^rd

We are pleased to confirm that, having been involved in an on-track incident at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (Spain) on February 22^nd, Fernando Alonso is making a solid recovery in hospital, and is chatting to family, friends and hospital staff.

From the scene of the incident he was driven to the circuit’s medical centre, where he was given first aid and, as per normal procedures, was sedated in preparation for an air-lift to hospital.

In hospital a thorough and complete analysis of his condition was performed, involving CT scans and MRI scans, all of which were completely normal.

In order to provide the privacy and tranquillity required to facilitate a peaceful recuperation, he is being kept in hospital for further observation, and to recover from the effects of the medication that successfully managed his routine sedation yesterday.

We intend to give him every opportunity to make a rapid and complete recovery, and will evaluate in due course whether or not he will participate in the next Barcelona test.

Over the past 24 hours, we have been carrying out a detailed analysis of the damage to Fernando’s car, and its associated telemetry data, in order fully to understand the cause, or causes, of his accident. Even at this early stage, we have been able to reach some firm conclusions.

His car ran wide at the entry to Turn Three – which is a fast uphill right-hander – allowing it to run onto the Astroturf that lines the outside of the track. A consequent loss of traction caused a degree of instability, spitting it back towards the inside of the circuit, where it regained traction and struck the wall side-on.

Our findings indicate that the accident was caused by the unpredictably gusty winds at that part of the circuit at that time, and which had affected other drivers similarly (eg, Carlos Sainz Jnr).

We can categorically state that there is no evidence that indicates that Fernando’s car suffered mechanical failure of any kind. We can also confirm that absolutely no loss of aerodynamic pressure was recorded, which fact indicates that the car did not suffer any aerodynamic loss, despite the fact that it was subjected to a significant level of g-force. Finally, we can also disclose that no electrical discharge or irregularity of any kind occurred in the car’s ERS system, either before, during or after the incident.

That last point refutes the erroneous rumours that have spread recently to the effect that Fernando was rendered unconscious by an electrical fault. That is simply not true. Our data clearly shows that he was downshifting while applying full brake pressure right up to the moment of the first impact – something that clearly would not have been possible had he been unconscious at the time.

Our data also confirms that Fernando’s car struck the inside concrete wall, first with its front-right wheel and then with its rear-right. It was a significant lateral impact, resulting in damage to the front upright and axle.

After the initial impact, the car slid down the wall for about 15 seconds before coming to a halt. All four wheels remained attached to the car, but no damage was sustained by the bodywork or crash structure between the front and rear wheels.

We wish Fernando a very speedy recovery. As and when we have further updates to share, we will of course do so.

Programme

Given the running issues that affected us throughout the first three days, the decision was taken last night to split seat-time for the final day of the programme. The aim was for Fernando to run in the morning, with Jenson taking over after lunch in order to more fully acquaint himself with MP4-30.

Unfortunately, we were unable to complete the day’s programme after Fernando suffered an accident at Turn Three just before lunchtime. Although conscious, and able to speak with the circuit’s medical team, he was flown to a nearby hospital, where he was given CT and MRI scans as precautionary measures. He was uninjured, but will remain in hospital overnight.

Given the lack of remaining track time, and the lengthy and thorough procedures needed to check the car and power-unit after such an impact, the team decided that it was not worth hurrying the rebuilding of the car in order to resume testing before close of play.

We now turn our attention to next week’s final pre-season test in Barcelona.

TODAY’S UNOFFICIAL TESTING TIMES

ERIC BOULLIER – Racing director, McLaren-Honda

“Fernando’s accident was just one of those things that happens in testing. Fortunately, he’s fine, but was concussed during the accident, which therefore required an overnight stay in hospital as a precaution. That’s normal practice after a concussion. Inevitably, some media reports have sought to exaggerate the severity of the incident – it was just a normal testing accident.

“While the car wasn’t particularly badly damaged, it was enough of an impact to warrant quite a lengthy check of the gearbox and power unit systems. Given the time needed to carry out such an analysis, we decided to bring the curtain down on our test a few hours earlier than anticipated.

“It’s been a tough week for the whole team, but we’ll be back, and pushing harder than ever, in Barcelona next week.”

What’s next

The final test of the winter, which also takes place in Barcelona, and kicks off next Thursday (February 26).

Test dates

Four days (February 19-22).