Barcelona Testing – McLaren have had to change the power unit in their car for the second time in two days.
The Woking-based team required an engine change on Monday following a suspected oil system issue, which cost Fernando Alonso half a day of running.
Stoffel Vandoorne took over from the Spaniard for Tuesday but he will now lose significant running as well, as a further power unit change is needed.
“We have lost power to the PU,” a spokesperson said.
“At the moment we don’t know what has caused the issue. We are currently changing the PU in order to investigate fully and identify the cause.”
McLaren admitted that Alonso’s problems on Monday came as a surprise, after running faultlessly on their filming day in Barcelona on Sunday.
Alonso’s first power unit is still being investigated, but Honda seniors suspect the oil tank may be the cause of the problems, providing good reason to redesign the area which would set the Japanese manufacturer back against its rivals.
Vandoorne had a minor drama after two laps of running on Tuesday as he stopped on the pit lane entry and needed the mechanics to push him into the garage.
The Belgian has completed 29 laps so far during his first day in pre-season testing.
