![]() ![]() ![]() The increasingly competitive package of the Adrian Newey-designed Williams and Renault V10 engine prompted Honda to develop an all-new V12 for the 1991 campaign. A month earlier few would have believed that to have been only remotely possible.McLaren and Honda started their successful partnership ahead of the 1988 season and would go on to dominate the next three World Championships, originally with a twin-turbo V6 and later with a naturally aspirated V10. All pieces fell into place in China where a cunning strategy and a great drive saw Hamilton claim the MP4-26's first win at its third outing. Red Bull still had a clear advantage but McLaren emerged as the second team with Hamilton and Button finishing second respectively in the opening two Grands Prix. The upgrade made a night and day difference and the MP4-26 was in the sharp end of the standings for the first time of the year. Once again showcasing their ability to turn things around, the McLaren engineers at Woking developed a heavily revised package ahead of the season opening Australian Grand Prix. Unfortunately the MP4-26 ended the tests showing both a lack of pace and reliability. A major contributor to the problems was a complicated exhaust system that directed the high-velocity gasses onto the floor well forward in an attempt to generate additional downforce. These would turn out to be far from trouble-free and the MP4-26 would rack up the least miles of all top teams' cars. The MP4-26 was launched a few days later and was used in the following sessions. In order to get a better understanding of the new tyres, McLaren decided to run the old car during the first official test session. ![]()
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