With test best time in favour? This is how Max Verstappen assesses Red Bull’s performance in the final winter tests ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 season
The world champion is right at the front, and clearly so: Max Verstappen finished the Formula 1 winter tests in Bahrain as the front runner with a lead of almost seven tenths of a second. However, he does not want to overestimate either the lap time or the gap, because: “So far, no one has gone full speed ahead in the quality race,” says the Red Bull man. In any case, he himself has not yet shown everything.
And so Verstappen draws a positive conclusion to his racing team’s preparation for the season: “We have learned a lot about our car [since the test opener in Barcelona in February] and have become much faster accordingly.”
On the sixth and final day of testing, Red Bull had again managed to improve. “The car felt okay and we managed to do our planned programme,” he explained.
The most important thing is that Verstappen took part in this final day of testing in a modified vehicle. Red Bull gave the RB18 an update to the sidepods and underbody for the final session of winter testing after fresh material was delivered at short notice.
V Verstappen was in a modified car for the final day of testing.
Verstappen’s first impression of the new parts? “They work,” he says simply. “That’s what you hope for.” And, “Hopefully we’ll keep them.”
His RB18 feels best with them “of course with little fuel”, Verstappen goes on to explain. “With a lot of petrol it feels sluggish. But that’s the same for everybody. “
Red Bull engineer: “The lap times are irrelevant “
“The lap times are irrelevant,” says chief race engineer Guillaume Rocquelin, trying not to attach too much importance to Verstappen’s best time. Rather, Red Bull’s focus on Saturday was “to put together the lessons we have learned over the past few days. “
“It was about trying different tyre compounds so that the drivers are happy and we have a base for next week. In terms of tyre choice, there were a few slight differences between Max and ‘Checo’, but overall the idea was the same, which is to create a good base for the race weekend,” said Rocquelin.
