Red Bull Chief Confident After Bahrain Testing

Red Bull's Christian Horner has expressed optimism regarding Max Verstappen's first run in the RB19 during the Bahrain pre-season test.

Verstappen completed 71 laps in the morning session and finished with the fastest time. Fortunately, there were no noticeable issues for either Verstappen or the team during the initial four hours and 15 minutes of the test. This is a positive indicator for Red Bull's competitors.

Horner explained during the test day:

"It was a solid first session.

"It is an evolution from the RB18. The RB19, adapting to these new regulations, I think the team has done a tremendous job over the winter.

The British team principal went on to discuss what he thought of the other teams test day. He continued:

"There are some interesting concepts, some have been a variance on a theme, some have been a convergence on some of our ideology.

"That is part of the fascination of F1, that there are all these fantastic and talented engineers coming up with these different interpretations."

Horner also reflected on what Verstappen had fed back about the RB19. He added:

"He got [out of] the car and I had a brief chat with him at lunchtime, he is already into the detail which is already a positive sign.

"There are no fundamental flaws with the car, we will only see next weekend how competitive we are."

With two more days of pre-season testing to go, the countdown is on for the first race weekend of the 2023 F1 season. The Bahrain Grand Prix will take place on 3-5 March.