Verstappen 'not too pumped up' despite positive Red Bull start

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen will not get "too pumped up" after the first day of Formula 1 pre-season testing despite setting the fastest time of the day as rivals Mercedes struggled.

That was the verdict of Red Bull's head of race engineering Guillaume Rocquelin after Verstappen battled through a sandstorm to complete 139 laps on the opening day of the test at the Bahrain International Circuit - more than any other driver or team - whilst also setting the fastest lap.

The Dutchman enters 2021 hoping to challenge Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas for the drivers' title, but despite the promising start, Rocquelin dismissed any notion of excitement from his driver.

“Today went well," said Rocquelin "The conditions were pretty difficult and very windy, especially in the morning.

"It calmed down a bit in the afternoon but a lot of dust had been kicked up and it was very hazy and quite difficult to run in.

"In terms of objectives, we’re really pleased, as we had a target in terms of the number of laps we wanted to get through and a fairly busy run plan and we were able to stick to both.

"Lap time is not what it’s about at this stage and I don’t think Max will be getting too pumped up about being at the top of the timesheet on day one. What’s more important is that we were able to follow the plan and do the laps."

Verstappen's only blip came with a spin early on in the day as all drivers fought for grip at the beginning of the test, although team principal Christian Horner suggested his driver had been caught out by the wind.

With new team-mate Sergio Perez taking over driving duties in the RB16B on day two, Verstappen insisted the true showing of pace will come during qualifying in a fortnight's time.

"It was very warm with a lot of wind and we know the degradation is always high around here so I’m very happy with how it went," said Verstappen.

"We aimed for this number of laps and when you can complete a full programme like this the team can also be pleased with the information we have.

"We don’t need to talk about pace yet and it isn’t really a discussion until we get to Q3 at the first race weekend - it’s only then you see the real pace in all the cars.

"The main thing is that the car felt nice to drive, so it’s a positive start.”

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