Red Bull boss Christian Horner gave revealed his impressions about rivals after wrapping up the 2023 Formula 1 pre-season test in Bahrain admitting Ferrari seem quick while Mercedes are somehow a mystery.
Red Bull have emerged as favourites once again after the conclusion of the only F1 pre-season test held in Bahrain last week, with Sergio Perez topping the time sheets on the final day of testing, over three tenths of a second clear from the closest rival, Lewis Hamilton who was second fastest but on a softer tyre compound.
With that it seems that Max Verstappen is set to start his Title defense campaign in 2023 in proper fashion as his RB19 seems to be another handy piece of kit delivered by the team’s design guru Adrian Newey.
Ferrari on the other hand were a bit under the radar, avoiding headline times, while Mercedes’ W14 doesn’t seem to be as fast as the eight-time Constructors’ Champions would have hoped, even though it doesn’t tend to “porpoise” like its evil predecessor, the W13.
Asked to evaluate the performance of his rivals, Horner said: “Very difficult to say. I mean Ferrari look like they’re quick, Mercedes’ form [is] difficult to read at the moment.
“Are they holding something back? We’ll see this time next week; I think all will become clear,” the Briton added.
Another team that caught attention during testing in Bahrain was Aston Martin, as they seem to have made a decent step forward with their AMR23, evident from Fernando Alonso’s runs in it.
Horner, whose former head of aerodynamics Dan Fallows is now the technical chief at Aston Martin, agrees with that impression regarding the Silverstone-based team.
“I think they’ve made a big step,” he admitted. “It looks like their concept of car has moved them forward and they look like they’re not too far away, so Fernando [Alonso] in particular looks very competitive.”
Feedback from both drivers consistent
Verstappen drove the full opening day of the Bahrain test while Perez handled the final day on his own, but the two split the running on the second day (Friday); and Horner was pleased that both of them offered similar feedback regarding the RB19.
“It’s been pretty consistent with Max’s,” Horner said of Perez’s feedback, “which is always refreshing to hear, so therefore the development of the car and the direction that we’ll be looking to optimise the car in future races is consistent between both sides of the garage, so that’s encouraging.”
As for their driver allocation philosophy over the three-day test; Horner explained: “I think our preference is: once a driver’s into a rhythm and their engineers are, rather than breaking it over the lunch hour, to continue that theme during the whole of the day.
“Of course, that’s different for every team… it’s more suited to the plans that we had at this particular test,” the Red Bull boss concluded.
Red Bull are now gearing up for the 2023 F1 season opener in Bahrain a week from now, where the true pecking order of all teams will be revealed and the impressions from testing will be validated… Or not.
The RB19 and @SChecoPerez finding a ? patch in #F1Testing ?pic.twitter.com/iMMEYdgedL
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) February 26, 2023