Max Verstappen’s testing schedule has concluded following Friday’s day of action, as the Red Bull car will be driven solely by Sergio Perez during the final day on Saturday.
Verstappen says that he is feeling “positive” as he gears up to defend his title from last year, which he took in dominant fashion.
The Dutchman had the entire day of running on Friday to himself at Red Bull, before he jumped behind the wheel again on Friday afternoon.
In total, Verstappen tallied 204 laps throughout the test, 47 of which were on Friday.
“Today we focussed on the smaller details and took little steps,” Verstappen said after the session.
“Again, the car was responding well to everything we did. We learnt a lot for next weekend and of course for future races as well.
“I’m very pleased with the testing period, every time I jumped in the car I felt comfortable and could push instantly.
“A massive credit to everyone back at the factory, working throughout the whole of winter and even last year to prepare the car we have now.
“To see it on track and how it behaves on track is great. We’ll have to see how quick we will be next week but I’m feeling positive.”
Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez, who made his 2023 test debut on Friday, says he was impressed by the new current challenger.
“I was happy to be back behind the wheel of the RB19 this morning,” he said. “We mainly focussed on the long run, to make sure the car was reliable and that was the main priority.
“The car feels good, we have a good pace and hopefully we can get some good fine-tuning in on Saturday.
“There are little differences to the RB18, which are mainly dictated by the change to the tyres but generally speaking it is pretty similar.
“I am happy in the car and I think we are in a good place. Now I am looking forward to getting a full day in the car tomorrow.
“We will do some good simulations for the race and try to prepare as much as possible for qualifying too.”
