Verstappen positive despite less productive day: “Don’t have to worry”

Published on 01 March 2018 by Mike Motilall

Max Verstappen has only been able to lap the circuit in Barcelona just 35 times on the fourth and final day of the first part of pre-season testing. In the morning session there was little action due to the wet conditions. In the afternoon, the Dutchman was in the pits for a considerable amount of time. Eventually he slipped off track, once on it, and got stuck in the gravel trap. Lewis Hamilton drove a 1:19.333, which topped the leaderboard.

Max shares his views to the press, including Verstappen.nl: “It wasn’t an ideal day. The plan was to do more laps. With this kind of weather, the track dries up very slowly and we didn’t want to get on the track while it was still so wet. It wouldn’t have served any purpose for us. Once it got dry, we started testing the aerodynamics to see if it correlated with the data from the wind tunnel. Once we were ready to finally start our runs, the team spotted a leak. We really wanted to check whether there was no real danger for the engine and that took more time than expected.”

“When we finally got out on track, I had a small excursion in turn twelve. I was behind of Gasly when I suddenly lost the car. I went in the gravel trap and I needed to put the car in reverse. While backing up something went wrong with the gear box. We still need to investigate what exactly, but those things happen. However, it did mean the end of my day. The conditions were this week in any case not so great, so hopefully next week there will be some more sun.”

Despite the somewhat disappointing day, Verstappen is, generally speaking, still happy: “We really don’t need to worry. Everything looks okay, we only haven’t been able to put in the laps. The car feels much better compared to last year. If it is enough, I don’t know, that will be evident in Melbourne. In any case, it all looks way more positive.”

Early in the afternoon, the temperature feels quite pleasant. That’s the first time this week. The track, still wet in the morning, is starting to dry up. Around one o’clock, the first drivers head out on track on slicks. To make up for time lost over the past few days, the lunch break has been cancelled today. Due to the lost Wednesday session, many teams change their drivers in the afternoon. Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc all take over control from their respective team mates.

After a quiet morning session, during which Max does 18 laps, the Dutchman starts his first run on slicks at 13.30 hrs. local time. On the medium compound tyres, Verstappen first does two installation laps, after which he does a six lap stint. During this run he clocks a 1:24.376.

After being shortly in the pits, Max heads back out again on the medium compound. This time round, he betters his time to a 1:23.158, earning him the tenth spot. It is obvious that Aston Martin Red Bull Racing is not focusing on doing fast lap times.

While the sun is giving way to clouds, Max heads out on the soft compound tyres with almost two hours remaining on the clock. Initially he does a 1:22.058. In the following lap, the youngster appears to be improving that time when it all goes south for him in turn twelve. Verstappen slips off track and gets stuck in the gravel trap. In order to retrieve the stricken RB14 from the gravel trap, a red flag is triggered.

At McLaren, the laps are mounting. Stoffel Vandoorne and Fernando Alonso both amass a total of 161 laps, the most of all the teams today. Even the speed looks to be okay from the Woking based team. With a 1:19.854, Vandoorne is second on the leaderboard today. Hamilton is with a 1:19.333 more than half a second faster than the Belgian, while Sebastian Vettel comes in third. It was also a productive day for Toro Rosso, Ferrari, Mercedes and Sauber as they were all able to put in over a hundred laps.

Max Verstappen doesn’t head back out again after his spin. He finishes the day with 35 laps to his name which puts him ninth on the leaderboard.

Pre-Season Test 1 - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - Thursday 1 March 2018

   Driver                Team   	Time    	Difference	Laps
1  Lewis Hamilton  	 Mercedes	1:19.333    	        	69
2  Stoffel Vandoorne	 McLaren	1:19.854	+0.521  	110
3  Sebastian Vettel	 Ferrari	1:20.241	+0.908  	120
4  Kevin Magnussen	 Haas    	1:20.317	+0.984  	96
5  Fernando Alonso	 McLaren	1:20.929	+1.596  	51
6  Carlos Sainz Jr.	 Renault	1:20.940	+1.607  	60
7  Lance Stroll   	 Williams	1:21.142	+1.809  	54
8  Sergio Perez    	 Force India	1:21.973	+2.640  	65
9  Max Verstappen  	 Red Bull	1:22.058	+2.725  	35
10 Pierre Gasly   	 Toro Rosso	1:22.134	+2.801  	147
11 Nico Hülkenberg	 Renault	1:22.507	+3.174  	49
12 Valtteri Bottas	 Mercedes	1:22.789	+3.456  	60
13 Charles Leclerc	 Sauber  	1:22.808	+3.475  	59
14 Marcus Erisscon	 Sauber 	1:23.825	+4.492  	79
15 Sergey Sirotkin	 Williams	1:31.979	+12.646  	47