Red Bull Racing had a productive final day in pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Both Alexander Albon and Max Verstappen spent time in the car over the course of the day, with Verstappen completing 86 laps, while Albon ran 83.
The Dutchman was behind the wheel of the RB16 for the morning run, and feels confident with the data and information he was able to collect about the new car.
“We got another good amount of laps today and for this first week of testing that’s really important as we try to understand the new car. We’re not chasing lap time; it’s not about that.
“It’s about scanning and testing everything on the car, making sure everything works well and that it’s reliable.
“It’s been really positive and the car has felt good all week. We still have a lot of things to learn on the car and that will continue next week, but at the end of this first test I’m happy and can’t complain,” said Verstappen
Red flag frustration for Albon
Albon’s time in the car was somewhat limited, due to numerous red flag periods. He nevertheless appeared to feel confident in the car ahead of the season opener at Albert Park.
“This week we were focused more on reliability and systems checks than anything else and everything went very smoothly,”
“The car feels good and each time we went out it felt better and better. It’s all about gaining experience of the car, learning what we can do with it and getting ready for Melbourne.
“The main areas we needed to work on have definitely improved. I think we’re looking strong and compared to last year we’ve made a good step forward. I think we’ve hit the ground running and we have a very good baseline now for next week.”
Head of race engineering, Guillaume Rocquelin was happy with how the team performed.
He said: “It’s been a very successful test for the whole Team and in my opinion one of the most satisfying first weeks of pre-season testing we’ve had in some time. We had no issues, and the car ran very smoothly throughout.”
