Max Verstappen says he’s not worried about the stability of his 2020 Red Bull Formula 1 car, despite a number of laps in pre-season testing.
Verstappen ended the last day of testing in Barcelona with the third fastest time of the winter after a late qualifying simulation race, trailing only Mercedes’ peak effort pair ‘Valtteri Bottas’.
Despite the pace of the Red Bull RB16, Verstappen and teammate Alexander Albon both had several laps during testing, suggesting that the car was difficult to manage.
But Verstappen was quick to minimize the tricks, joking that he wanted to create a topic of discussion for his media functions.
“I knew I was going to come here today, so I said,” Well, we need something we need to talk about, so let’s give it a few rounds, “said Verstappen.
“It’s just something that happens. I want to try the limits of the car, and I think it worked pretty well.
“By doing a few laps, I knew where the line was.”
When asked if fans were right to fear that the RB16 would be nervous on the track, Verstappen replied: “They don’t drive the car, so they don’t know.
“I’m not worried at all. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep pushing and improving.
“We had a good preparation. I think it is very good on our side, and I hope that this is enough to be competitive in Melbourne.
“We have tried almost everything we wanted to try every day together, so I am very happy with that.”
Albon echoed Verstappen’s comments on the laps, noting that a number of other teams had also had off-track moments as they found the limits of their new cars.
“I think it’s just really pushing, just trying to see what the car can do,” said Albon.
“The wind is always up and down too. So it’s not just Max and me.
“I think there are a lot of laps in the paddock.”
Verstappen set his best winter time in the final hour of the six-day test period, after focusing on long runs for much of the preseason.
The Dutchman said he felt good to stretch the legs of the new Red Bull car and see what he could do.
“It’s much more fun to drive a car like this, [after] all the time just a lot of rounds in a row, “said Verstappen.
“Everything seemed to be working quite well. We weren’t driving the softest compound, but I still think the balance of the car was good.”
Max Verstappen says he’s not worried about the stability of his 2020 Red Bull Formula 1 car, despite a number of laps in pre-season testing.
Verstappen ended the last day of testing in Barcelona with the third fastest time of the winter after a late qualifying simulation race, trailing only Mercedes’ peak effort pair ‘Valtteri Bottas’.
Despite the pace of the Red Bull RB16, Verstappen and teammate Alexander Albon both had several laps during testing, suggesting that the car was difficult to manage.
But Verstappen was quick to minimize the tricks, joking that he wanted to create a topic of discussion for his media functions.
“I knew I was going to come here today, so I said,” Well, we need something we need to talk about, so let’s give it a few rounds, “said Verstappen.
“It’s just something that happens. I want to try the limits of the car, and I think it worked pretty well.
“By doing a few laps, I knew where the line was.”
When asked if fans were right to fear that the RB16 would be nervous on the track, Verstappen replied: “They don’t drive the car, so they don’t know.
“I’m not worried at all. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep pushing and improving.
“We had a good preparation. I think it is very good on our side, and I hope that this is enough to be competitive in Melbourne.
“We have tried almost everything we wanted to try every day together, so I am very happy with that.”
Albon echoed Verstappen’s comments on the laps, noting that a number of other teams had also had off-track moments as they found the limits of their new cars.
“I think it’s just really pushing, just trying to see what the car can do,” said Albon.
“The wind is always up and down too. So it’s not just Max and me.
“I think there are a lot of laps in the paddock.”
Verstappen set his best winter time in the final hour of the six-day test period, after focusing on long runs for much of the preseason.
The Dutchman said he felt good to stretch the legs of the new Red Bull car and see what he could do.
“It’s much more fun to drive a car like this, [after] all the time just a lot of rounds in a row, “said Verstappen.
“Everything seemed to be working quite well. We weren’t driving the softest compound, but I still think the balance of the car was good.”