When Honda tweeted "Good morning from Bahrain International Circuit. And welcome to Oliver Turvey. It's test time", alongside a picture of the grinning Briton, you just knew it was going to end in tears.

Tempted to tweet our feelings, that the youngster wouldn't be grinning for much longer, we opted not to bother. An opportunity was missed.

Several hours into the session, and with the youngster having completed just two installation laps, it was clear that Honda had suffered yet another failure.

Following the weekend's numerous MGU-H failures, which resulted in Stoffel Vandoorne not even starting the Grand Prix, Turvey has been sidelined by a water leak in the Energy Recovery System, resulting in yet another engine change.

As investigations into the MGU-H issue continue, it is understood - but not confirmed - that today's issue is with a new spec of engine, Honda having made clear that it intends using this week's two day test to improve both performance and reliability.

Indeed, it is understood Yusuke Hasegawa has returned to Japan to oversee the Bahrain post-mortem.

Check out our Tuesday gallery from Bahrain, here.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by mickl, 19/04/2017 1:24

"I do think the hype about Honda's heritage is a bit over rated. Yes they had a dominant era in the early 80-early 90s decade in which they smashed it as it was obviously the right engine at the right time with the right teams (Williams and Mclaren) but their previous and subsequent outings as constructor and engine supplier has netted 3 victories overall in about a decade and a half of racing which doesn't sound like a great track record."

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2. Posted by Yeyox02, 18/04/2017 23:14

"Honda, the kings of engine change."

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3. Posted by C5, 18/04/2017 21:38

">> Remember when testing was permitted and these kinds of problems didn't exist within the f1 paddock.

Actually, I don't :-) - But I DO remember Ford and Peugeot V10 engines exploding every four minutes during the mid/late 90'es, and the Ferrari V12's doing much the same in the years before that...
"

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4. Posted by sumpnz, 18/04/2017 20:57

"I would assume that a company like Honda has (or has access to) a chassis dyno spec'd to handle F1 duty cycles. They need, as edllorca said, a McLaren chassis so they can spend the next 3 months running non-stop on the chassis dyno so they can not only develop reliability but also performance with the fully integrated package. Waiting for these test sessions is not going to get them there. "

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5. Posted by Tweek, 18/04/2017 18:09

"Remember when testing was permitted and these kinds of problems didn't exist within the f1 paddock. I wonder how much $$$ Honda is gonna spend taking shots in the dark to repair engine issues. This sport really needs to stop shooting itself in the foot !"

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6. Posted by edllorca, 18/04/2017 14:30

"i am wondering when the mechanics will mutiny? To spend a couple of hours changing an engine and it blows up within minutes of running and they have done so three or four times this extended weekend so far... It would be perfectly human to say no more!

Mclaren should send a chassis or two to Japan so Honda can try all the engines it wants and tell them not to call until engines survive 4 hours at full power IN the car."

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7. Posted by edllorca, 18/04/2017 14:24

"There are no words for this whatsoever! We are well past sad, tragedy, shame, farce, comedy...
"

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8. Posted by nonickname, 18/04/2017 12:33

"What happened to falling on your sword?"

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9. Posted by copy_dude, 18/04/2017 12:31

"Somehow, I missed the report that Mercedes declined to supply McLaren with engines for 2018. Was it on 'Pitpass' ? I can't believe that this partnership will continue. Not even for the reported 100m. "

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10. Posted by Nortim, 18/04/2017 12:26

"Great start to "improve both performance and reliability":( How many more bad days Honda will have? Some luck is overdue, to have a nice long day with lots of laps!"

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