Max Verstappen enjoyed a positive day at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Tuesday as the Dutchman completed one hundred and thirty laps and set the third best time of the day.
The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver admitted it was important to put some mileage onto their RB14 after losing track time on the final day of the first test last week, and although a little time was lost on Tuesday as the team changed the battery on the car, only Sebastian Vettel and Marcus Ericsson completed more laps.
“It was a good day today,” said Verstappen. “We did a lot of laps and that’s really important, just to put mileage up on the car.
“We had a small problem with the battery late in the day, so we had to change that and it takes a bit of time, but afterwards it was all good.”
Verstappen remains cautious about the potential of the RB14, and he knows it will be the first race of the season before they will be sure where they are in relation to their rivals, but he does feel the car is quicker than its predecessor.
“The car feels good,” said Verstappen. “Everyone of course wants to know where we think we are in relation to our opposition but honestly it’s impossible to tell until we get to Australia, as you don’t know what everyone else is doing.
“In terms of where this car is improved over last year, again it’s very difficult to say as the new surface here changes how you drive and that, together with the new tyres, makes it difficult to pinpoint any particular area.
“Also, with the first week not being that successful in terms of temperatures and so on, it’s still all to be discovered. I know it feels faster though!”
