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Formula 1 Barcelona February testing
Verstappen delighted with Red Bull-Honda's "calm" start
Max Verstappen says he is “very happy” with how Red Bull and Honda have started working together in Formula 1, describing it as “very focused and calm”.
Scott Mitchell
Published: Feb 20, 2019, 6:48 PM
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Verstappen has not troubled the top of the times in his RB15, ending his second day of testing fifth-fastest and one second slower than pacesetter Daniil Kvyat in the Toro Rosso, which is also powered by Honda.
He lost time in the morning due to “small things” but racked up more than 100 laps to take his tally for the week to 237.
“I’m just very happy with the way we’re working together,” said Verstappen. “It’s all very focused, and calm. Everybody knows their job. So that’s good.
“Talking about laptimes is always difficult. For us what is important is to try to do a lot of laps and to do different set-ups on the car, to see which direction we have to go.”
Honda described its work on the third day of testing as engine function and system checks.
It has also started to optimise the engine to each driver’s style as its new partnership with Red Bull continues to run trouble-free.
Asked if he had been able to run the Honda at a higher power mode yet, Verstappen said: “Of course not, but I think nobody [has].
“What is most important is everything is reliable and the car is working well. We didn’t have a lot of issues and if you do more than 100 laps on a day it’s always positive.”
Verstappen also downplayed a suggestion Red Bull was suffering from vibrations at the rear of the car.
“It’s always like that,” he said. “People always think they know better.”
Honda has almost matched Mercedes and Renault for mileage logged across two teams so far.
Wednesday’s benchmark-setter Kvyat completed 137 laps, only one fewer than the busiest driver – Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen.
“I don’t know what settings I was running, it is up to the engineers to analyse this kind of data, [but] it had all the reliability to do all those laps,” said Kvyat.
“We did many laps today. That is what I am looking for. It is important and Honda is providing us with that opportunity.”
Daniil Kvyat, Scuderia Toro Rosso STR14
Photo by: Joe Portlock / LAT Images
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