Verstappen anticipates strong start for Red Bull: 'Stability vastly improved'

In a press briefing ahead of his final run in Bahrain this afternoon Max Verstappen gave his views on Red Bull's start to the racing season. The Dutchman is generally happy with the work already done by his team and expects the winter tests to put Red Bull Racing in a good position to get off to a flying start in Bahrain in two weeks time.

"So far everything is working as hoped, the car is responding as we expected," the Dutchman said, as quoted by Speedweek.

"We have gotten to drive a lot, which is different than in previous years. And that is essential to understand a new racing car. We were also able to start working on the coordination early on, which is also positive. But it is still early to draw conclusions from this and from the lap times."

Improved stability

Verstappen confirmed what many people had already noticed: the RBR16 seems a lot more stable than its predecessors, especially at the rear.

"We have made significant improvements with the new car, which can be felt despite the changed aerodynamics and the different tire construction.

"What we like so far: The stability is right, and when working with the car everything is just as the technicians had imagined. There are no unpleasant surprises."