McLaren plan to delay the debut of their 2015 car, most likely to be called the MP4-30, after revealing plans to run a Honda-development car at the first pre-season test or sooner.
The team will switch from Mercedes to Honda power next year and it hopes by running a special version of their current car aimed solely at evaluating engine and gearbox installations, it will allow them to work on the MP4-30 for longer without the distraction of installing a brand new power unit.
Racing director Eric Boullier says it could be run at the Abu Dhabi test following the final race of the season, but it’s more likely it will be used at the opening pre-season test in Jerez.
“We are building a development car because we have a lot of systems to check, with electronic connections and whatever,” confirmed Boullier.
He hopes it will give his technical team more time to develop next year’s car whilst a separate team can work on ironing out any engine issues which are likely to strike.
“We have this development car that we will put on track either at Abu Dhabi, or Jerez, or even later Barcelona or somewhere else, when we feel the need and are ready to do so.
“We can obviously do it while we do not affect the work we are doing with next year’s partner. That allows us to keep working flat out on next year’s car.”
