• Testing

McLaren fails the reliability test

ESPNF1 Staff
March 17, 2011 « Ecclestone wants grid cut to ten teams | »
Jenson Button out on track during McLaren's stop-start-stop testing schedule © Sutton Images
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Perhaps unsurprisingly, a review of the pre-season testing has shown that McLaren was the least reliable team over the four rounds in Spain.

An analysis by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport shows that, excluding HRT who did not run its new F111 at all during the winter tests, Ferrari's 150 Italia did the most mileage. And at the bottom of the ranking, behind Force India, Lotus and Virgin, is McLaren, having done almost half of Ferrari's nearly 7000 kilometres.

The MP4-26 was launched late after skipping the opening Valencia test, but it has since been plagued with exhaust, hydraulic and aerodynamic problems. "I'm not going to lie," admitted Jenson Button. "It's not the best way to go into the season. We are a long way down on it [mileage] but there is no point getting negative about it and down at this point of the season."

Some 800 kilometres behind Ferrari on the mileage list is Red Bull, whose Christian Horner said the team has "never been so well prepared" for a new season.

Third best was Sauber, ahead of Mercedes, Toro Rosso, Renault and Williams.

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