McLaren on target with development programme
Day three saw another productive session, with both Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen accumulating yet more miles in the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-23 whilst continuing the programme of set-up work and systems durability.
Just over an hour before the end of the test Lewis’s car stopped out on track as his engine was in a process of planned reliability testing at the end of the week’s session, with the team pushing it well beyond its limit of a two race weekend.
Martin Whitmarsh: "With clear weather on all three days this week we have been able to accumulate more miles on the two MP4-23s, which is crucially important at this stage of the development with the focus very much on endurance and reliability. Lewis, Heikki and Pedro have been doing a great job and the feedback we are getting has been extremely productive. Bridgestone have supplied us with a harder compound of tyre than we have usually used at this circuit, and we have been spending some time working with them closely on this. We are on target with our programme and looking forward to seeing how the car will handle round the Barcelona circuit next week."
Laps run today: Total - 173
Laps run in total at test: Total - 598: Lewis - 199 / Heikki - 285 / Pedro - 114
Kilometres covered today: Lewis - 337km approx / Heikki - 357km approx.
Kilometres covered in total at test: Total - 2,394: Lewis - 797km approx / Heikki - 1,141km approx / Pedro - 456km approx
Best lap time today: Lewis - 1m11.994 at 14.22 / Heikki - 1m11.206 at 13:04
