McLaren unveils 2016 MP4-31posted in F121 | 02 | 2016
McLAREN HAS LIFTED the wraps from the car it believes will deliver a far more successful Formula One season than it endured in 2015. The Honda-powered MP4-31 will run for the first time tomorrow, in the hands of Jenson Button at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
"As we embark on the second year of our renewed McLaren-Honda partnership, all of us remain united in our purpose," McLaren group CEO Ron Dennis said.
"That purpose is to develop our team towards our shared ambition: to win.
"We'll make no predictions as to when those wins will come, but I can say without fear of contradiction that every member of our team has worked with truly relentless dedication over the past few months.
"The result is that MP4-31's developmental trajectory has been usefully steepened over the winter, and I'm consequently very proud of our team's efforts."
While McLaren describes the new chassis as 'innovative', there's no denying its fortunes will rest on Honda's off-season progress with the RA616H power unit.
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"Learning from last year, we've made changes to the compressor and other hardware of the power unit during the break, maturing our overall concept from last year," Honda motorsport boss Yasuhisa Arai said.
"Our focus will be to test the car's balance with the new chassis and power unit, and specifically the ERS direction during the eight days of winter testing.
"We won't know exactly where we stand until we reach the end of the two tests, but we're looking forward to getting back on track, gathering data, and feeding back the information to our engineers so as to prepare for Melbourne and onwards."
And Button, who will drive the car in Barcelona on Monday and Wednesday, with team-mate Fernando Alonso taking the seat on Tuesday and Thursday, acknowledged the detail of the package of the new McLaren package.
"The immense amount of sheer hard work that has gone into the development of the MP4-31 over the winter makes me immensely proud,Button said, "and consequently I go into the new season with even more motivation and belief.
"From what I've seen so far, the aero detailing on the car looks fantastic, and I'm really looking forward to beginning the process of testing those new innovations when I get behind the wheel tomorrow."
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Jim McGill