Both Red Bull drivers have highlighted improved drivability of the new RB16 following the first week of winter testing.
Performance was not high on the agenda at the Milton Keynes-based outfit in Barcelona, with Max Verstappen’s best time 1.8s off the fastest set by Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas.
Yet despite that, the long-run pace of the Dutchman was comparable to the new W11 and his impression, after an impressive 254 laps, was strong.
“It feels good but we’ve done already a lot of laps on the simulator as well where I got used to it, so there were no real surprises when I jumped in the car,” Verstappen said via Crash.net.
“I think overall it feels just a bit more connected [compared to 2019], but that was also the target. There was no real surprise there.
“I think towards the end of the season we were working towards that and already last year testing some ideas for this year so it was what we targeted already from the wind tunnel.”
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Despite the improvements, Verstappen’s push for further gains is apparent.
“It can always be better, right?” he added. “In every area you try to look for things to improve, the whole year you are like that.
“This week it’s not about just nailing the set up because then you keep changing the car every single run.
“Sometimes it’s better to not touch it, but just scan a bit of the car and make sure that you do the amount of laps that you are already stressing the car.”
Teammate Alex Albon largely echoed the 22-year-old’s comments, suggesting he too had more confidence heading into the second week.
“I’d definitely say it’s more usable – in terms of you can really feel the car,” he said. “It feels nicer to drive – it really does.
“I think there [were] always areas last year where we felt the car was a little bit weak in some places.
“With Max and I, we have quite similar feedback comments. So, coming over the winter it was kind of clear what direction we wanted to go in.
“Coming already straight into the first test, the car definitely feels better in the areas.
“So, we’ve made a step forward.”