Despite strong pace and reliability, though he admits to Bahrain being "the best" pre-season test, Max Verstappen refuses to get carried away.

They might have been less than forthcoming in terms of pre-test images of the car, grudgingly issuing two renders that gave almost nothing away, but once the lights went green for pre-season testing it was clear that it wasn't only those renders of the RB16B that had been kept in the dark by Red Bull.

On Sunday, Max Verstappen signed off in the same way he began the three days of testing, posting the best time of the day, and on the harder C4 softs to boot.

Though the Austrian team didn't enjoy the most mileage, completing 369 laps to Alpha Tauri's 422, it completed almost a full race distance more than great rivals Mercedes.

So, the RB16B has pace and reliability, and both drivers look supremely confident, however Verstappen prefers to keep his feet firmly on the ground.

Asked if it had been a good test, the Dutch youngster was in no doubt: "Yeah, definitely I think it has been the best," he grinned.

"But it doesn't give you any guarantees," he quickly added. "We'll find out through the first race weekend where we are."

Like its great rival, right up until the last minute Red Bull had been keen not to reveal how it had dealt with the new aero regulations, particularly in terms of the floor, however it soon became clear that the Milton Keynes outfit had done a better job, showing greater stability than the W12, which, according to Valtteri Bottas is "snappy" and "unforgiving".

"You know you will lose a bit of downforce on the car with this floor, but so far, it's been quite a stable," said Verstappen.

"We always look in to what we can improve," he added. "For sure there are some things we want to work on, but I guess every team has that.

"We'll find out for sure in a couple of weeks in Q3 where we really are," he admitted, "but in general I would say the car feels good and I'm looking forward to going racing."

Check out our Day 3 pre-season test gallery from Bahrain, here.

LATEST NEWS

more news >

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

Click to go to the main galleries section

READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 15/03/2021 23:21

"Given all the publicity surrounding Tsunoda's lap times it now appears that he has been using the DRS in places where it is usually not allowed. That would mean that his times are not comparable yet they are somewhat indicative. It all looked too good to be true!!!...and it was."

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by Egalitarian, 15/03/2021 21:54

"Maybe Honda has found a few more horses. Fitting I guess, given how stable the Red Bull is...
I'm here each Tuesday. Try the veal."

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

3. Posted by F1 Yank, 15/03/2021 18:53

"I feel for Honda, if the Redbull does extremely well this year. Ouch!
"

Rating: Positive (1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

Verstappen not getting carried away despite "best" test

LATEST NEWS

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST IMAGES

POST A COMMENT

Post your comment

READERS COMMENTS

Share this page