Barcelona F1 test: McLaren-Honda to experiment heavily

Oliver Turvey is at the wheel of the MP4-30 at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on Tuesday, with Jenson Button at the helm on Wednesday.

Racing director Eric Boullier believes the test is crucial if McLaren is to make progress following a troubled and point-less start to the campaign with new power-unit supplier Honda.

"We've a lot of components [to test] - it's the whole car," Boullier told AUTOSPORT.

"Mechanically there have been a lot of new parts designed, and a lot of aero stuff, a lot of progressive stuff we are going to try.

"It's a very, very interesting two days for us because we are developing a new philosophy, and there is a lot to extract.

"It's also about understanding the direction we want to go, and we hope to achieve this."

The test will also enable McLaren to get on top of the issues faced by Button during Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.

The 2009 world champion complained the first 30 laps of the race were the scariest of his life due to the rear end of the car continually snapping out on him.

Switch changes and new tyres helped alleviate Button's fears to some degree, although Boullier is convinced the problems experienced by the 35-year-old will not reoccur.

"At the previous four races the car was nice to drive," said Boullier.

"Because of one problem in one race it doesn't mean anything for the future.

"Most of the teams complained about rear grip, and it was the same for our car.

"Although I don't have all the information from the shakedown of his car, if there was something wrong I feel it was a one-off."