Testing in Abu Dhabi took place on Tuesday and all eyes were on the McLaren pit as they debuted the new Honda engine.
The team are yet to confirm their driver line-up for the 2015 Formula One World Championship, but it is widely expected that former two-time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso will be leading the team following his departure from Ferrari.
For this test though it was promising youngster and GP2 racer Stoffel Vandoorne, he however failed to set a time as McLaren completed just three laps with the new Honda power unit.
Vandoorne had to leave his McLaren out on track after suffering a ‘a fuel/data exchange issue with the car.
‘This test is an opportunity for us to build up that operational strength; to get McLaren and Honda working together under the same roof,’ McLaren Racing Director Eric Boullier told Sky Sports.
‘We encountered a number of issues, including a lengthy check of electrical installations this [Tuesday] morning, but it?s satisfying to see that we got the engine fired up, the car out of the garage, and some laps on the board in the afternoon.
?We?re not chasing laptimes this week, it?s just about gradually expanding our knowledge. [Wednesday] will hopefully be all about conducting longer runs as we learn about different parts of the engine, and run through each separate system.?
Elsewhere and GP2 series champion Jolyon Palmer made his F1 debut for Force India completing 37 laps and setting a respectable time of just a second slower than the best time set by Mercedes Nico Rosberg.
Carlos Sainz Jr completed 100 laps for Red Bull Racing as he auditions for the Toro Rosso seat alongside Max Verstappen who completed 55 laps for the sister team.
Marcus Ericsson completed 95 laps for his new Sauber team, whilst his Caterham replacement Will Stevens extended his Formula One weekend with 102 laps, also setting a time faster than that set by Ericsson.
Valtteri Bottas set the fastest time of the day for Williams, whilst Kimi Raikkonen set the second fastest time for Ferrari.
But in the Ferrari paddock the attention was taken by former four-time Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel who made an appearance in the garage familiarising himself with his new team.
1. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1m 43.396s, 80 laps
2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1m 43.888s, 81 laps
3. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1m 44.512s, 114 laps
4. Jolyon Palmer, Force India, 1m 45.516s, 37 laps
5. Carlos Sainz, Red Bull, 1m 45.339s, 100 laps
6. Will Stevens, Caterham, 1m 45.436s, 102 laps
7. Charles Pic, Lotus, 1m 46.167s, 89 laps
8. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1m 46.253s, 95 laps
9. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1m 47.194s, 55 laps
10. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, no time, 3 laps
McLaren Honda manage 3 laps
