Honda's new power unit has provided a promising step forward in performance according to McLaren's Eric Boullier.
Honda have been working hard on both reliability and performance following a disappointing debut campaign last season and have effectively redesigned much of the engine in order to fix its many weaknesses.
The Japanese company brought a revised specification – which it will likely race in Melbourne later this month – to the second pre-season test, and Boullier says the difference is clear to see and promises there is more to come.
"There is clearly a gain and it is good to see we have more potential coming," he told reporters on Wednesday. "It’s still very early days so we need to put more mileage [on it], and there is more experience to be gained on how to use and exploit it. But so far, for sure, more potential."
The team completed 121 laps on Wednesday with Jenson Button behind the wheel, whilst team-mate Fernando Alonso completed 93 laps the day before, and Boullier reported the Spaniard is happy with the progress so far.
"His first comment was he was happy, he could feel a difference – compared to last year and compared to last week, actually. The comparison was straight forward and he was clearly happier.
"He will also be happier tomorrow, I guess, because we have been doing some mapping work since yesterday and the engine is better and better and better. But it is step by step because there is some reliability issue if you go too fast and too far."
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