Christian Horner delivers warning after Max Verstappen testing blitz

Red Bull

Horner delivers warning after Verstappen testing blitz

The Dutchman was fastest on track on Day 1 in Bahrain and his boss had a message for rivals

Ewan Gale

Thursday 23 February 2023 16:46 Updated: 22:39

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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has warned F1 rivals Max Verstappen's reaction to his first run in the RB19 is a "positive sign".

The two-time world champion took driving duties on day one of the Bahrain pre-season test, finishing the morning fastest with 71 laps under his belt.

Crucially for a first run, there were no obvious issues for the team nor driver across the opening four hours and 15 minutes - an ominous sign for the rest of the grid.

"It was a solid first session," said Horner.

"It is an evolution from the RB18. The RB19, adapting to these new regulations, I think the team has done a tremendous job over the winter.

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On rival cars, Horner added: "There are some interesting concepts, some have been a variance on a theme, some have been a convergence on some of our ideology.

"That is part of the fascination of F1, that there are all these fantastic and talented engineers coming up with these different interpretations."