After the convincing test drives in the Sakhir desert, title defender Red Bull only has to do the fine tuning before the Formula 1 season starts next weekend. The conclusion of the drivers and those responsible after the many and also fast practice laps on the Bahrain International Circuit could hardly have been better.
“It has been shown that we are reliable, that we are fast and at the forefront,” said Red Bulls motorsport boss Helmut Marko on Saturday on pay channel Sky after Sergio Perez’s best time on the final day. They “actually only had one problem over the three days. And that wasn’t serious,” emphasized 79-year-old Marko.
Verstappen: “I’m in a positive mood”
At the start, two-time world champion Max Verstappen set the best time of the day and completed a total of 157 laps. “It’s great to see the car on the track and how it behaves,” said Verstappen: “We’ll see how fast we are next week, but I’m positive about it.” Verstappen wants to make the title hat-trick perfect this year.
On the second day of testing, the 25-year-old Dutch title defender finished second, on Saturday his 33-year-old Mexican team-mate Perez finished the tests with the absolute best time.
“Because we had such a perfect rollout, we actually worked for three days on the detailed coordination,” explained Marko and thinks the new Red Bull is faster than the new models of the competition on the so-called long runs – especially from Ferrari and Mercedes. Because he is – as of now – assuming that the three teams will be at the top again this year. “I think the first three will be the same,” said Marko. The question is how close Ferrari and Mercedes will be to Red Bull.
