The current Formula 1 world champion, Max Verstappen, starred in the first appearance of the Red Bull RB18 in this 2022, since despite having completed a first shakedown at Silverstone, the Austrian structure had not yet published any images.
As soon as it left the garage, the energy drink team car caught the eye of everyone present, as its new RB18 had a series of lines in various areas of the car that had not yet been seen by any team until now.
After that first impact, Max Verstappen bingeed on laps on the first day of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, being the driver who accumulated the most mileage with 147 laps, although his time was not so remarkable, a 1′ 22″246 with the C2 compound, the second hardest in the Pirelli range.
As soon as he got out of the car on his first day of testing, the Dutch driver shared his feelings and confirmed that the new Red Bull car felt good, although obviously it was still early to talk about performance: “The car is completely different. The RB18 feels good, but of course the important thing is that it’s fast, that’s what we hope to see.”
As usual in the first days of pre-season, especially considering that these cars are completely different compared to 2021, the teams focused more on mileage than lap time.
“Today was about doing a lot of laps, getting used to the car and trying to get an idea of how it behaves. It all worked out well so that was a good start. Tonight we’re going to see what we can learn already and what we can do tomorrow, when Checo is in the car”.
“Of course you go wide or you block here or there. We [the drivers] are also discovering what the balance of the car is like and, step by step, where its limits are. But the most important thing is to drive a lot and add some kilometers to the pieces,” he concluded.
Tomorrow the single-seaters will return to the asphalt to complete the second and penultimate day of pre-season testing in Barcelona, although, unlike today, Verstappen will not be there, since it will be his teammate Sergio Pérez who will drive the single-seater throughout the day.
