Faulty seal jeopardises first days at Barcelona for Honda
The team kicked off this week's Barcelona test with a series of short runs to evaluate some mechanical balance changes. After concluding the third run of the morning, and with the team getting into the programme, a broken seal on the MGU-K caused a problem that ended running for the day.
"We had to stop running this morning after discovering a faulty seal on the MGU-K", said Yasuhisa Arai, Honda R&D senior managing officer said.
"That faulty part then caused an issue that requires full replacement of the power-unit - and the time needed to make those changes effectively ended today's programme.
"We'll need to run a re-designed component to avoid a potential repeat of the problem. Unfortunately, we won't be in possession of that updated part until Saturday, which means that we may face the same problem when we run again tomorrow.
"Such issues are all part of testing, but we'll make the best changes we can overnight, and will plan for a productive day of running - with Fernando behind the wheel - tomorrow.
"Hopefully, with a bespoke solution ready for Saturday, both drivers will have an opportunity to get some useful laps under their belts, with Jenson driving on Saturday, and Fernando concluding the test on Sunday."
Despite the stoppage and the limited running, Jenson was upbeat about the car's balance, handling and predictability. He completed 21 laps, the fastest of which in 1m28.182s and thereby was classified 7th fastest of the day.
