Double shutdown adds to McLaren testing woes

Following frustrations in the opening test when McLaren’s mileage was dented by a wheel nut failure and a broken exhaust bracket, the Woking-based team had hoped to hit the ground running this week.

But its day got off to a bad start when the MCL33’s Renault engine shut down with an electrical failure as Vandoorne returned to the pits following an installation lap.

Shortly afterwards, Vandoorne stopped out on track with the same electrical issue, bringing out the red flags and prompting a lengthy investigation at the team to work out what the problem was.

Vandoorne was able to get running again shortly before the lunch break so the team could complete a system check, but his seven-lap tally is far short of the mileage the team had hoped for.

It is understood that the electrical issue is related to the battery – but it is unclear whether the problems originates from McLaren or Renault’s side.

Bodywork tweaks

McLaren MCL33 rear bodywork detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

McLaren also appears to have been forced to make compromises to its rear bodywork in a bid to help cooling in the car – having faced overheating headaches in testing last week.

Scorch marks on the engine cover last week prompted the team to add an extra cooling slot in a bid to help running.

As the car emerged on Tuesday, the team had added three more cooling slots in a bid to help hot air escape.

However, as Giorgio Piola’s exclusive photograph (below) shows, this does not appear to have been enough to prevent further burning of the bodywork.

With the slots not ideal for performance, it could be that the team is forced to tweak the design of its engine cover to help increase airflow and cooling prior to the first race of the season.

McLaren MCL33 rear detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Gary Anderson’s view

McLaren is pushing the limits on cooling. From the picture we can see it has added an extra three slots to the one that it was forced to cut into the bodywork last week.

There are two brown-ish marks are on both sides of the bodywork so there is something very close to that part of the engine cover - probably the exhausts or turbo and that is of major concern.

The exhaust temperatures on these cars run at around 400-800 degrees centigrade and are wrapped in heat-proof insulation. If the temperature cannot be controlled, anything near them is vulnerable.

To finish first, first you have to finish - so these random reliability problems that McLaren seems to have carried over from the Honda days are of major concern, and now the team has no-one but itself to point the finger at.

The car of Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren MCL33 is pushed in pit lane

Photo by: Sutton Images