McLaren’s test driver Oliver Turvey completed a shakedown of the outfit’s new car on Saturday in Spain, prior to pre-season testing which kicks-off on Tuesday.
The 24-year-old became the first person to drive the MP4-27 as he completed several system checks to ensure the car functioned as expected.
“[It] was an absolute honour to be the first person to drive the McLaren MP4-27 today, thoroughly enjoyed every moment,” Turvey said on his Twitter account.
“It ran well for the first day! It was a fantastic experience to be first to drive the new car,” he added. “Hard to know how good the performance will be until we get on track next week in Jerez!”
Jenson Button will be the first behind the wheel to drive the car in anger at Jerez on Tuesday, before handing the car over to Lewis Hamilton on Thursday.