Vandoorne takes positives from McLaren F1 test despite issue

Stoffel Vandoorne found plenty of positives to take from his first extended run-out in the new McLaren Formula 1 car despite only completing 37 laps in Barcelona on Tuesday due to cold conditions and a minor issue on the car.

After first sampling the new Renault-powered McLaren MCL33 in a filming day last week, Vandoorne was able to stretch the legs of the car after taking over from Fernando Alonso for the second day of pre-season testing in Barcelona, finishing the day fourth-fastest.

However, the Belgian was limited to just 37 laps - the second-lowest total of the day - as cold conditions forced all teams to change programmes and a broken exhaust clip forced McLaren into some repair work.

"We had this small issue with the exhaust clip just after lunch, which obviously detached the exhaust and blew a lot of hot air on some of the wiring looms," Vandoorne explained.

"One of those wiring looms was the brake wire as well, so the team took a precautionary check which obviously meant things took a bit longer than expected."

Despite the setback, Vandoorne found plenty of positives to take from the running, echoing teammate Alonso's positivity after his laps on Monday.

"Obviously [it was] very nice to get back in the car after the winter. It felt like I hadn’t left the cockpit so that was positive," Vandoorne said.

"Mainly what held us back was the weather conditions. Obviously it was a very cold and damp circuit, so that took a while to get the running started for everyone, so we took the opportunity to do some rake works and gather some aero data during this time.

"After that the track got in a reasonable condition and managed to do a few proper runs and try and understand a bit more the car we have this year. First impression is very positive, felt very comfortable, no surprises. Some good learning done.

"All in all, it’s been a positive day with a lot of things learned."