The second day of the 2022 Formula 1 pre-season test allowed the world champion to be seen on the track again after his teammate Sergio Pérez rolled at the start of the winter tests in Bahrain.
Max Verstappen was in charge of testing the RB18 throughout Friday at Sakhir, and was able to finish in third place at the end of the afternoon session, although he dropped one place after Kevin Magnussen’s Haas set the fastest time in the extra hour he had to taxi due to delays in the American team’s plane.
The Dutchman completed 86 laps in the Red Bull, and when asked if they would install new parts, he did not want to give any clues: “Maybe! Maybe yes, maybe no. Who knows, but it will be known tomorrow”.
“So far, it’s pretty good, but there are always areas to improve,” explained the reigning world champion. “In Barcelona I noticed it different to what it is here and what is needed in the car because of the configuration of the track.”
Despite all the mileage accumulated, Verstappen showed some concern about the weather conditions: “Today it was very hot, there were also quite a few red flags, but I think we did a good job for tomorrow. It is not very representative with the conditions of high temperature, which will not occur in Bahrain (in reference to the time of qualifying and race)”
“In general, it has been a normal day, with a lot of laps doing our job,” he continued.
The last moments of the day were used to test the softer tires, which in theory are faster, and the Red Bull man said: “I didn’t feel the soft tires well, they had a little more front and rear grip, although that’s the logical thing.” These compounds, in the end, we’re not going to use here, so it’s not very representative either, that’s why I think tomorrow will be a better day for me.”
Verstappen also carried out an action more typical of a race than of some pre-season tests with Carlos Sainz, coming to the turn 1 braking in parallel: “I think he was on a long run with more fuel, while I was on a short, so I was catching him, and when I caught up with him, he started using the DRS. I think he wanted to fight too, so we had a bit of a battle.”
Asked if this was helpful in figuring out the behavior of the new ground effect cars, he commented: “Yes, why not? If you get the chance, try a few things.”
In addition, he spoke about Ferrari: It seems that they are going well, without a doubt. They have started to run, but maybe they started with him a little earlier than the rest, I think the pace of development will be seen throughout the year. Of course, you have to start being competitive and stay that way.”
