Honda’s new Formula 1 engine will run on track for the first time on Friday, as McLaren’s development MP4-29H makes its first appearance at Silverstone.
Ahead of the Japanese car manufacturer’s return to F1 in 2015, it has been pushing to try to get some track testing of its new turbo engine done before the end of this year.
McLaren has been building a development car to test the installation of the new power unit, and had been hoping that work had progressed enough for it to be able to join the post-Abu Dhabi Grand Prix test.
With Honda confident that it is ready, the team has confirmed that the car will run for the first time during a filming day at Silverstone on Friday.
A tweet from the team on Thursday morning said that the team would be “parading the interim Honda-engined MP4-29H.”
Briton Oliver Turvey, the team’s test driver, will be the man in charge of shaking down the Honda-powered car.
Although the mileage of filming days is limited, and the team has to use demonstration tyres, any running will be valuable to help uncover any problems with installation prior to the Abu Dhabi test.
McLaren racing director Eric Boullier said recently that the development of the MP4-29H would help the team concentrate more on fully developing its definitive 2015 MP4-30.
He said: “We are building a development car because we have a lot of systems to check, with electronic connections and whatever.
“We have decided to take a different approach based on what we are doing this year. For development of the current car, everything has to be applicable to next year’s car.”
