Bahrain’s Sakhir (AP) — Christian Horner, the team principal, was present at Red Bull for the start of Formula 1 preseason testing on Wednesday despite being the subject of an ongoing investigation by the team’s parent corporation regarding a purported misbehavior charge.
At the beginning of Wednesday’s morning practice, Horner was with Adrian Newey, the team’s chief technology officer, while Max Verstappen drove the team’s new vehicle. The Dutch driver’s quest for a record-breaking fourth world title has begun.
The parent company of Red Bull announced on February 5 that it was looking into claims of wrongdoing against a team member. Throughout the investigation, Horner has remained the team principal and has denied any misconduct.
In the first session on Wednesday, Red Bull was still the fastest vehicle on the track. In addition to setting the fastest time of the practice, Max Verstappen passed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on the track, finishing 0.699 seconds ahead of him.
Lap times don’t really mean anything right now, according to Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez. “The most important is to get through our program and try to to make sure we have a good three days of testing because it’s basically all what we’re going to get through the season.”
Red Bull has altered its strategy, even though the majority of teams created vehicles that were largely comparable to the 2023 Red Bull, which won all but one race. Its new vehicle features vertical air intakes set in compact sidepods. Mercedes used a similar strategy in the past with limited success, but Verstappen’s results suggest Red Bull has discovered a way to make it work.
With Alex Albon’s car stopping on the track due to a technical issue, Williams was the only team with blatant reliability problems.
Before the season begins next week with the Bahrain Grand Prix at the same location, there are three days of preseason testing scheduled for Wednesday through Friday.
Teams are limited to one driver per session, with two sessions held each day. This meant that teammate George Russell drove on the first day, while Lewis Hamilton, who is leaving Mercedes at the end of the year to join Ferrari, sat out.
Driver for McLaren Lando Norris announced that he would don a helmet inspired by Gil de Ferran, the 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner who passed away in December. When Norris made his Formula One debut in 2019, De Ferran was the team’s sporting director; more recently, he served as an advisor.
“Towards the end of last year, we lost a very precious person in our lives. He was a close friend who had supported me almost from the beginning of my Formula 1 career. Someone with whom I not only laughed a lot and had a fantastic time, but who also supported me both on and off the track when I needed it “On social media, Norris shared a picture of herself. “To express my gratitude for everything and to let him know that he’s still very much a part of McLaren, I’ll be wearing the design he used to win the Indianapolis 500 today. I’m hoping you enjoy it. Gil, this one is for you.
