Another day to forget for McLaren

McLAREN’S troubled pre-season campaign showed little sign of abating in Barcelona as further reliability issues plagued their second day of testing.

While Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas pounded around the Circuit de Catalunya as Mercedes showed off the astonishing reliability they hope will fire them to yet further glory, McLaren were restricted to 40 laps.

McLaren may have won a combined 20 drivers’ and constructors’ championships in the sport, but they have fallen dramatically down the grid in recent years and their renewed relationship with Japanese engine supplier Honda has been thoroughly disappointing so far.

After Fernando Alonso missed the majority of the opening day in his Spanish homeland with an oil leak, Stoffel Vandoorne fell foul of further woes from the team’s unreliable engine yesterday. Vandoorne (below) stopped at the entry to the pit lane after completing only a handful of laps and he had to be pushed back to his garage by the McLaren mechanics. Shortly before lunch, Vandoorne then lost power from his engine which had to be replaced. While he re-emerged in the latter stages of the day, he added just 11 further laps to his morning tally. Vandoorne finished ahead of only Lance Stroll – the Canadian teenager whose Williams team were forced to abort their schedule following damage he sustained in a spin – in both the time he set and total mileage. Kimi Raikkonen set the day’s fastest times as Ferrari continued their strong start to winter testing.