Autosportfoto

More Honda trouble after just two laps of Bahrain Formula 1 test

Honda's troubles in the Bahrain heat continued on Tuesday when McLaren's Formula 1 testing programme was interrupted by a reliability problem after just two laps.

McLaren's Bahrain Grand Prix weekend was plagued by run of failures with Honda's MGU-H.

But despite McLaren development driver Oliver Turvey managing to get out on track as soon as testing got under way on Tuesday morning, he was only able to complete two installation laps before being confined to the garage with a problem.

Honda engineers had discovered a water leak in the Energy Recovery System and there was no option but to make an engine change.

Work on the switch was taking place on Tuesday lunchtime in the hope of getting Turvey back on track later in the day.

It is understood that the engine being used was a new test specification that had been shipped from Honda's Sakura facility in Japan.

The replacement unit will also be of this type.

Honda had said ahead of the test that it wanted to trial some new ideas to help improve its performance, and potentially look at cures for its problems from the race weekend.

Investigation of the cause of the latest water leak is ongoing, and it is unclear if the issue that has stopped Turvey is related to the earlier Bahrain MGU-H failures.

Stoffel Vandoorne suffered two breakages in Friday practice, while Fernando Alonso's MGU-H broke during a qualifying lap and damaged an internal combustion engine too.

Ahead of the race, Vandoorne also suffered another failure when water pressure dropped, with initial suspicions surrounding a repeat failure of the MGU-H. The Belgian was unable to start the grand prix.

Honda's F1 chief Yusuke Hasegawa flew back to Honda's headquarters in Japan after the race to help work on the investigation into the Sakhir problems, and help push forward development plans for the rest of the season.

One theory is that the hot temperatures in Bahrain have contributed to Honda's troubles, but a definite answer will not be known until later this week when the broken parts have been stripped down and analysed.

Zdroj: autosport.com