Verstappen reports in after maiden outing in RB16

©RedBull

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Max Verstappen was in an upbeat mood on Wednesday afternoon after completing the first laps in Red Bull's 2020 challenger at Silverstone.

The new car had been launched earlier in the day in an online presentation from the team's headquarters in Milton Keynes.

In the afternoon, the team decamped to Silverstone for a filming day which is permitted by the rules and regulations in advance of the start of official pre-season testing in Spain next week.

The shakedown was limited to no more than 100km, and provided the team with video clips for sponsors to use in promotional activities over the course of the year.

"I've just finished my day, my filming day, first time in the RB16," reported Verstappen in a video clip posted to social media site Twitter.

"It's important to get the car running and check all the bits on the car that it's all working before we head to Barcelona. I can’t wait to be there.”

"It was very positive," he confirmed.

Earlier, Verstappen had told Sky Sports F1 about his hopes for the forthcoming season.

"I hope this year onwards we are fighting for a podium at least, and the worst-case scenario is third," he told Natalie Pinkham. "We are doing everything we can to try and step up.

While Verstappen might have been behind the wheel of the car, his team mate Alexander Albon also wasn't far from the scene as the Dutch driver put the RB16 through it's initial paces.

Albon was on hand to tweet from trackside. "Max is out on track now, the car is looking pretty good," he said, happy to confirm that the new car looked "Quite fast, quite fast!"

Red Bull itself reported that the afternoon's track time had gone entirely to plan and that it had been a “good first outing” with no reports of any issues of glitches.

"We can confirm the RB16 is sounding sweet," the team added. "What a beauty, Max and the RB16 are shining in the Silverstone spotlight."

The new car was sporting the tried-and-tested Red Bull livery, with the team making no apologies sticking to an unchanged look for 2020.

"Liveries are made to last," the team stated in the social media posts covering the new car. "It's straight back to business in our iconic matte livery as the Bulls pick up where they left off and prepare to charge into the 2020 Formula 1 season.

"The RB16 is here to #ChargeOn!"

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.