Manufacturing delays mean first test of first 2016 race package will come in Melbourne; Boullier says McLaren-Honda now reliable
Saturday 5 March 2016 14:40, UK
McLaren's full Australian GP-specification car will now be tested for the first time on the season-opening weekend after they ran out of time at Barcelona.
The Woking team did introduce new chassis parts onto the MP4-31 at the final test but delays in the manufacturing process at their Woking base meant the full package wasn't ready to run in time for Friday's final day.
"We are not running the 2016 spec here," said racing director Eric Boullier.
"We are a bit behind the programme. So that means we are going to turn up in Australia with more bits on the car, which have unfortunately not been signed off here. But it is what it is."
Boullier downplayed the reasons for the full specification not arriving in time, saying they were perhaps only guilty of being "too ambitious" in the production timetable.
Although the team will now face a particularly busy Friday practice in Melbourne on March 18, Boullier said they could be pleased with the mileage they were able to complete with the new Honda-powered car during the winter.
"We have been able to run most of the days, which is very good news," said Boullier, after McLaren finished fifth on the mileage charts at the final test with 453 laps completed.
"In terms of chassis, it's important that we could go through all the systems, which we couldn't do last year. So for us it's a good achievement. Now we have a reliable car, more or less, to start the season - so we are definitely more confident."
Honda ran two versions of their 2016 power unit across the two tests and their new F1 chief Yusuke Hasegawa confirmed the final specification had now been homologated for the first race, describing it as a "good start point".
And with the results of the MP4-31 on track matching their simulation data, Boullier believes the team can look to make continuation improvement once the season commences.
"There will be more to come now," he predicted. "The base looks okay and there will be much more performance in the coming weeks."
While reliability may have improved, McLaren's position in the initial 2016 pecking order remains uncertain with the team themselves not making predictions about how competitive they will be at the first race.
The team, who endured their worst season in 30 years in 2015, finished the second test with a 13th-fastest time which was two seconds adrift of Ferrari's leading pace.
Asked if they could be fighting with Force India and Toro Rosso, Boullier replied: "We will see when we turn up in Melbourne with our full spec.
"It's true that Force India and Toro Rosso were competitive last year. Their cars were just an evolution of last year, so there is no reason why they will not be competitive."
The first race of the 2016 F1 season, the Australian GP, is exclusively live on Sky Sports F1. The race in Melbourne starts at 5am on Sunday March 20.
