Looking at the first day of pre-season testing, we all know that we shouldn’t spend too much time looking into the performances as things can change – quickly!
In this post, we’re sharing the news from the top 3 teams from last year, starting off with Red Bull, who kept Max Verstappen in the car for the whole session.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen: “It was good. A lot of laps so that’s what we wanted. It was basically a smooth day – no issues. We could really focus on the car try a few things to understand the new tyres for this year.”
“We got loads of running during the day when it was really hot, or kind of hot, and in the evening as well – so it’s a pretty OK day.”
“The car is a bit of an evolution from last year. I think last year was more a time where you were really adapting to the car, really understanding what you had to do.”
“Of course, with all the knowledge from last year, I think it’s already a much easier start for everyone to come back here. It’s nice to see the new car, how it has evolved from last year, how the behaviour is a bit different and also, because of the tyres.”
“The car is running well at the moment, that’s important.”
Mercedes
For Mercedes, it was a productive first day with the team completing an extensive programme and data gathering for the W14.
The team split the drivers – George Russell driving in the morning with Lewis Hamilton taking over in the afternoon.
Laps completed – George: 69, Lewis: 83 – Total 152
George Russell: “It was great to be back out in the car and get a real first experience of the W14. It is still too early to say whether our performance levels are relative to the competition, but we had a nice clean day and learned a lot.”
“There are plenty of positives to take away and we can focus on maximising the potential of the car in the coming days.”
Lewis Hamilton: “It’s good to be back in the car, here in Bahrain. It was a nice, cool afternoon weather-wise, though windy. We got through the programme and have gathered lots of data.”
“We also had good reliability which contributed to our strong mileage total: that is down to the amazing work done back at Brackley and Brixworth.”
“We’ve got to keep pushing, focus on ourselves and stay focused. It’s difficult to know where we are in the order, but we’ll get a better feeling in the days to come.”
Ferrari
A good day for Ferrari as the team worked throughout the day – taking a long time with the aero rakes on the front of one of their drivers, Carlos Sainz’s car, during the morning sessions.
In the afternoon, it was time for Charles Leclerc to go out on track but with the long time spent on the aero rakes, there was less time for Charles Leclerc to run in the afternoon with not as many laps being completed compared to other teams.
With more on the way soon…
The Formula 1 Girl
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