McLaren, first setbacks: Piastri stopped in the afternoon due to a fuel system problem

Afternoon in the pits Not everything went smoothly at McLaren on day 4 of the shakedown tests in Barcelona. After a solid morning, with 48 laps completed and the second fastest time (for what it’s worth) recorded in the rankings, the afternoon was an uphill one for the papaya team. Oscar Piastri, who was also at the wheel of the MCL40 in the morning shift, was in fact forced to remain in the garage for the entire afternoon session. Not a good sign for the world champion team and especially for the young Australian talent, who this year will have the difficult task of reversing the internal hierarchies and trying to claim his space alongside world champion Lando Norris. McLaren, also through Piastri himself, confirmed that what limited the #81’s work today was a fuel problem: “There were some problems today – Piastri confirmed – we had a problem with the fuel system which shortened our day a little, but I know that the team is working hard to resolve it and allow us to get back on track tomorrow.” Final day tomorrow McLaren has so far completed two days of work out of a maximum of three available. Tomorrow, on what will be the last day scheduled on the Barcelona track, the papaya team will try to get the MCL40 out of the garage to clock up crucial kilometers in view of the first real tests scheduled for mid-February in Bahrain.