Horner: "There was no point in letting Verstappen test at Silverstone"
General
- GPblog.com
During the test of Red Bull Racing it was Alex Albon who was behind the wheel of the RB16 to get used to the new measures at Silverstone due to the coronavirus. Max Verstappen was not there, otherwise he would have had to spend two weeks in quarantine. Christian Horner, team boss of Red Bull, doesn't expect that Verstappen will have a disadvantage because of this, compared to the drivers who have already tested.
"There was no point in putting Max in isolation here for two weeks before he could get in the car. In Europe itself he could do many more things and was able to drive different cars on different circuits. It's weird to let him come over for 50 kilometres, which equates to ten laps at Spielberg. In consultation we have decided that he won't benefit very much from it and I don't think he will suffer from it", Horner says in the Formula 1 cafe at Ziggo Sport.
Wearing mouth caps takes some getting used to
During the test at Silverstone it could be seen that the whole team had adapted to the measures taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus as much as possible. According to Horner, it is important that the measures are tested before the first race takes place. "It takes a lot of getting used to. Sometimes it's claustrophobic, especially with the warm weather. The team members can normally communicate with a look or an expression on someone's face, but that's not possible now. That took some getting used to."
"On the pit wall, we must now wear mouth caps. That's for a good reason of course, but it's also important that we practice that. We did that last Thursday". Next week we will find a lot of mouth caps on the paddock, because the measures require it. Despite all those measures Horner is happy to go back to work. "When the car goes back on the track, you realize again what you're doing it for", says Horner.