Verstappen after flying start: 'This was exactly what we hoped for'

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Verstappen positive about first encounter RB19
23 February 2023 at 18:14
Last update 23 February 2023 at 19:07
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  • GPblog.com

Max Verstappen drove the most laps during the first F1 test day. Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner already sounded pleased and Verstappen now adds to that. The RB19 seems fine.

Verstappen almost halfway through pre-season already

Red Bull took a gamble by having Verstappen drive the tests for the first three sessions and Sergio Perez for the last three. Should something go wrong with the RB19, it was likely that only Verstappen would lose preparation time. As things went well on Thursday in Bahrain, Verstappen sounds positive.

Verstappen.com quotes the Dutchman: "It went well. We were able to do a lot of laps and that's exactly what we were hoping for. The day went smoothly, without any problems, so we could focus on the car and learning to understand the new tyres." It sounds like a flying start for the championship team. Both during high temperatures during the day and during the cooler evening, Red Bull collected a lot of data.

Verstappen got to know well

Verstappen summed up the day as follows: "We came here with all the knowledge of last year's car, so that's an easier start for everyone. It's nice to see the new car and the development from last year. The behaviour of the car is slightly different, also because of the tyres. It was a good day to understand all that."

The two-time world champion does not yet dare to make any predictions about the RB19's actual speed. For now, he sounds mostly very positive about the productive day and getting to know the new car well.