With Lewis Hamilton securing the F1 drivers title at the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi, the 2014 F1 season isn’t about to close just yet as the second and  final day of testing commences at the Yas Marina Circuit. Most F1 teams are performing various tests including running on next seasons Pirelli tyre compounds. The main interest of the two day test is the first official chance to see the McLaren Honda partnership back in action after a 21 year gap. The first day didn’t go according to plan, the team had fuel/data exchange issues which curtailed running during the morning session. McLaren revealed that “electrical issues with the battery particularly” were the source of the problems. Nico Rosberg and McLaren’s reserve driver, GP3 racer Stoffel Vandoorne, were on hand to carry out testing duties as Lewis Hamilton was excused to do his rounds of press interviews that befits his world champion status.

Stoffel Vandoorne was only able to complete a few installation laps in an interim McLaren-Honda MP4-29H/1X1. Nico Rosberg fared better managing to complete 144 laps.

Honda’s motorsport boss, Yasuhisa Arai, wasn’t too overly concerned with the days trails and tribulations. “This week’s test is really all about performing some fundamental systems checks on the engine before we begin testing in earnest next February,” he said. “When I was at Jerez earlier this year, I noticed just how many issues the teams faced in readying these turbo engines, so we really wanted to get those initial checks under our belts before winter testing starts in 2015. “The engine we used today is still under development – it’s not for the actual race – and we’re on schedule to develop it further ahead of the forthcoming season. There are a few more steps coming before Australia. “We’re making good progress for the new season as one team.” As the second day begins McLaren Honda are again suffering from the same electrical issues. Abu Dhabi F1 Test, 25-26 November 2014, day 1 times;

	Driver	Car	Best time	Laps	Difference
1	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes FW36	1’43.396	79
2	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari F14 T	1’43.888	81	0.492
3	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes W05	1’44.512	114	1.116
4	Jolyon Palmer	Force India-Mercedes VJM07	1’44.516	37	1.120
5	Carlos Sainz Jnr	Red Bull-Renault RB10	1’45.339	100	1.943
6	Will Stevens	Caterham-Renault CT05	1’45.436	101	2.040
7	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber-Ferrari C33	1’46.253	95	2.857
8	Charles Pic	Lotus-Renault E22	1’46.827	89	3.431
9	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso-Renault STR9	1’47.197	54	3.801
10	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren-Honda MP4-29H/1X1