After a much improved pre-season testing programme in 2016 compared to 2015, Eric Boullier insists McLaren-Honda head into the new season in a much better position than twelve months ago.
Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button completed 780 laps between them during the two pre-season tests at the Circuit de Catalunya in 2016, 400 more laps than they covered in three tests last season.
Now McLaren racing director Boullier insists the team received a ‘big boost’ to their confidence ahead of the new season due to its improved reliability and ability to go through its work list in a more consistent manner.
“Last year we couldn’t do anything on the car. Checking nothing, actually,” revealed Boullier on Autosport. “At least this year we went through a lot – job list, to-do lists, and check lists.
“In terms of systems and even the car itself, we pushed some limits on some new designs we had on the car. Some of them failed, some of them not, which is a normal process of testing, but I am happy with the results.
“At least now we have covered this mileage over the last eight days, so we are much more prepared and comfortable. We are also feeding back into the machine more data, so we know where to go and it’s going to be a big boost to us for development.”
