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McLaren 'made a mistake' with Honda - Hartley

Photo: © LAT Images

McLaren 'made a mistake' with Honda - Hartley

Toro Rosso driver Brendon Hartley believes McLaren have ditched Honda at just the wrong time. The New Zealander completed more laps than all but one other driver - Daniel Ricciardo - on the first day of pre-season testing in Barcelona on Monday.

McLaren's pre-season efforts over the past three years with Honda had generally seen them down on power and reliability.

But Hartley's best time was only two hundredths off Fernando Alonso in a McLaren now powered by Renault and he clocked in an impressive 93 laps.

"I think they've made a mistake," Hartley told Marca. "The engine is very driveable and I have more power than last year."

Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost also told a news conference on Monday that Honda had made improvements in reliability and power.

McLaren had plenty more to worry about on day one of pre-season when Alonso spun off after only five laps, due to a "wheel-nut issue".

"This is a very, very small problem but very graphic, very obvious," Alonso said. "A car in the gravel makes a big thing.

"There are six teams in the garage with the door closed and the car in pieces, but no one sees it, there's no picture of that."

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