Formula 1 Pre-Season Test
Marko: New Red Bull F1 concept is working after “very impressive” first day
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko says that the Milton Keynes team enjoyed a “very impressive” first full day of testing in Bahrain with the RB20.
Adam Cooper Ronald Vording
Edited: Feb 22, 2024, 2:36 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Max Verstappen spent the whole day in the car, which is substantially different from its title-winning predecessor, setting a best lap that was 1.1 seconds clear of the McLaren of Lando Norris.
Read Also:
Marko says that Red Bull’s new concept is working and that the car responded well to changes.
"Very, very, very impressive,” said the Austrian. “We ran 142 laps, without any problems, more or less. And the concept is working. So that was the first main thing. The car is reacting, and we are developing. Yeah, it looks good."
Asked about Verstappen’s take on the car, he said: "Positive. Whatever changes we did and whatever we tried, the car was reacting, and more or less it was fine-tuning, what happened now. We all were smiling a lot.”
Marko admitted that the team had taken a chance by making such a radical change between seasons.
"I mean, it's always a risk,” he said. “And if you look at Mercedes, they had some problems, and our car was working from the very first lap. So we are very proud and glad.
“Also, the reliability is unbelievable. And [from] what I saw tyre-performance-wise, again, Ferrari has more problems than us.
“Also, the McLaren seems to be a little bit more nervous. Mercedes, I don't know what they did. For sure they are faster than what they have shown. But we can be confident."
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Asked if he had expected rivals to make more of a step with their cars, Marko couldn’t resist a dig. "I think they didn't expect what we would do,” he said, adding: “How should I say? The cars all look like [ours from] last year."
Regarding the prospect of others copying the RB20, he said: "It takes a while to do such a concept."
Read Also:
Verstappen himself agreed that the new car was reacting well to changes.
“We covered a lot of laps and tried quite a few things with the car, which was important,” said the world champion. “So happy overall with how it went.
"After the winter break, the first few laps always surprise you a little, but then you get back into the swing of things pretty quickly.
“Overall, the car was responding well, and considering this was only testing, we had a nice day. Looking to tomorrow, we are speaking to our engineers about what the plans will be, but I am looking forward to getting into the car in the afternoon.”
Read Also:
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Russell: New Mercedes F1 car already ‘feels nicer’ to drive
Next article Bahrain F1 testing: Tech images from the pitlane explained
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
More from
Max Verstappen
Red Bull drivers fear Mexico start, Max Verstappen jokes: “A Le Mans start would be just as quick”
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
Red Bull drivers fear Mexico start, Max Verstappen jokes: “A Le Mans start would be just as quick”
More from
Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen clears the air with Liam Lawson, but stays tight-lipped on Racing Bulls F1 seat
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
Max Verstappen clears the air with Liam Lawson, but stays tight-lipped on Racing Bulls F1 seat
When Red Bull expects to start using its long-awaited new F1 wind tunnel
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
When Red Bull expects to start using its long-awaited new F1 wind tunnel
Latest news
Honda Racing US echoes Porsche urgency over unified 2030 rules framework
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 2 h
Honda Racing US echoes Porsche urgency over unified 2030 rules framework
Toto Wolff: Two sponsors left Mercedes after promoting Kimi Antonelli into F1
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
3 h
Toto Wolff: Two sponsors left Mercedes after promoting Kimi Antonelli into F1
Winners and losers from the penultimate round of 2026 NASCAR Cup season at Martinsville
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
3 h
Winners and losers from the penultimate round of 2026 NASCAR Cup season at Martinsville
Cadillac to investigate high-speed Mexico GP failure that led to angry Valtteri Bottas reaction
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
3 h
Cadillac to investigate high-speed Mexico GP failure that led to angry Valtteri Bottas reaction
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe