McLaren haven’t gotten off to the perfect start on Day 1 of Test two at Barcelona. Stoffel Vandoorne was hit with two forced stoppages in the first hour itself.
With the first week of testing being hit by bad weather and a Fernando Alonso rear tyre failure, McLaren would have been hoping for a long and extended run this time out, with the Sun smiling down on the cars.
However, that was not the case to be, as Vandoorne was halted as his car came down the pit lane after his installation lap. The McLaren mechanics had to then push the new MCL33 to the garage in order to iron things out.
The McLaren team though couldn’t fix the problem, as Vandoorne came to a halt once again, this time near the start/finish line, prompting the red flag to make an early appearance on Day 1 of the test two.
“We suffered a power shutdown during Stoff’s last run, meaning we lost data. The team are investigating, but we’ll be back out as soon as we can,” the McLaren twitter team said.
#F1Testing update: we suffered a power shutdown during Stoff’s last run, meaning we lost data. The team are investigating, but we’ll be back out as soon as we can. pic.twitter.com/OYQxEZ8OKm
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) March 6, 2018
Vandoorne and the MCL33 haven’t yet returned to the track as mileage issues continue for McLaren.
Mercedes though were quick to console their ‘pappaya’ friends, giving a novel solution about how to overcome the ‘IT’ related issue.
See you back on track soon our #papaya coloured friends! 👏👏👏
Hate to say it, but… pic.twitter.com/0Dxo1i7dUM
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) March 6, 2018
Bottas and the Mercedes are having a great time on the circuit today having completed more than 66 laps at the time of writing.
Hamilton is scheduled to be in action during the afternoon session.