McLaren looking shaky

McLaren Honda have looked shaky during the first two winter tests…literally.

According to Sky Sports, vibrations from the Honda power-unit have been at fault for a number of reliability issues, including triggering electronics problems.

The McLaren Honda broke down on four separate occasions during the final two days of testing last week with Sky explaining: ‘Unexpected vibrations from the Honda engine are causing McLaren’s power unit to effectively shake itself into breaking down’.

During the eight days of winter testing in Barcelona, it is widely believed inside the paddock that McLaren Honda made more engine changes than would be permitted throughout the entirety of the 2017 Formula One World Championship without receiving a penalty.

To prevent the Honda expiring prematurely, McLaren have had to complete many miles of testing at low power, limiting the knowledge they can gleam from their chassis performance.

McLaren chief Eric Boullier said: ‘Although we’ve suffered a number of issues over the course of two weeks of testing, we’ve certainly learned a lot about the car, and we know the problems that need to be addressed,’

‘Plainly speaking, they aren’t overnight fixes, but we’re hopeful both McLaren and Honda will be able to make progress on them ahead of Australia.’