F1 Tests 2018 | Two nightmare days for McLaren, last in km and "lapped" by Honda...

be brave. Courage of course, what is needed to emerge and get back up, but also to explain to the many enthusiasts what is happening, something certainly unexpected, surprising, almost paradoxical. The racing gods probably love playing dice if after two days of collective tests - among other tests marked by cold and rain, they call it Burian - the very ambitious papaya-colored McLaren-Renault on the (re)launch ramp sadly closes the ranking of laps completed, with only 88 laps in two sessions, while the former unpopular Honda engine engineer completed 175.

The Japanese-powered Toro Rosso is a beauty with Hartley first and then Gasly, so much so that the New Zealander promoted the Honda power unit, going so far as to declare: "McLaren may have made a serious mistake, this engine is powerful and drivable."

It is strictly forbidden after just forty-eight hours on the track to draw conclusions, outline scenarios, much less promote or reject anyone. But doubts and questions slowly make their way, creeping in like a worm. Was it really all the Japanese engineer's fault? How much did the very poor integration between chassis and engine affect the final balance sheet (all in the red)? How is it possible that the much-maligned Honda runs without problems, after years of disasters, while McLaren has started the new year with a mess?

The anguish of Woking is perfectly captured in the image of the bonnet of Stoffel Vandoorne's MCL33 overheated to perfection, with the Belgian putting together a paltry 37 laps on the second day. The pressure is all on the glorious Anglo-Saxon team: it boasts a great chassis, magnified left and right, and now has the same engine as the Red Bull. He can't make any more mistakes. Above all, it cannot cover half the kilometers of other Renault engines.

Antonino Rendina

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