Max Verstappen managed to set the second fastest time of the day, and in doing so achieved Red Bull Racing‘s fastest time of testing.
The Dutchman ran a total of 71 laps working through a programme designed to improve the car for the season opener in Melbourne.
Verstappen wasn’t too concerned about the issues that surfaced a few times during testing, and is confident in the team’s ability to sort them out before the important part begins. He also thinks there is still room to improve despite the impressive lap time of 1:19.438.
“I’m not too worried about the small issues we’ve had; that’s what testing is for,” he said. “They aren’t major problems and I’m quite sure they will be solved before Melbourne. In terms of lap times, I think we just have to wait and see until the first race weekend.
“For us the most important thing today was to check the balance a bit more and work on getting the car where we want it. The performance is not too bad. For sure we want to improve, but for now it’s OK.
“Testing is just about trying to improve the car, it’s not about qualifying lap times.”