Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen continue to clock up the miles in the new MP4-23 as the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team completed a testing session in Valencia.

Set-up work and systems durability formed much of the focus of the test and Hamilton’s car stopped on the track an hour before the end of his test as the engine succumbed to a planned reliability test at the end of a two week session.

The team pushed it well beyond the limits of a two race weekend and Martin Whitmarsh, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes chief operating officer, said: "With clear weather on all three days this week we have been able to accumulate more miles on the two MP4-23s, which is crucially important at this stage of the development with the focus very much on endurance and reliability."

He said that the drivers were doing a "great job" and the feedback was proving to be very useful.

Next week, the team moves to Barcelona to continue the testing before the season begins in March.

"We are on target with our programme and looking forward to seeing how the car will handle round the Barcelona circuit next week," Mr Whitmarsh added.

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