Bahrain I, Day 2: McLaren test report

Kevin’s second day of testing in Bahrain started falteringly after the team encountered an IT issue that required much of the day to rectify. The team only began uninterrupted running in mid-afternoon, but quickly put the programme back on track, logging 46 laps, completing a series of tyre evaluations over several long-runs, and completing a live pitstop practice.

Kevin set the best time of the day, and the fastest of the test so far, on Supersoft Pirellis at the end of the day. He said: “It’s a dream every time I get in the car: it’s just so cool to be here and to be driving. I’m really enjoying it.

"Unfortunately, we didn’t get too many laps done this morning, but it was good to get some laps done at the end of the day. The afternoon was good for us, and we worked through our problems.

"The team is doing a great job to help me: they’re giving me really good guidance and making me feel confident. There’s a lot of discussion about laptimes, and it feels good to get some good times recorded, but winter testing is just that – testing. It isn’t about times.

"We’re still learning a lot about the car. We have four more days of testing next week and there’s still a lot of work to do. I’m sure everything up and down the pitlane will change a lot between now and Australia."

Jenson takes over for the final two days. He continues the programme begun by Kevin – namely, running through some aero evaluations before focusing on set-up and balance changes over the course of a long-run.