Sergio Perez was left with a positive feeling about the potential of Red Bull's new RB16B after enjoying a short run at Silverstone on Wednesday onboard the team's 2021 contender.
Perez put himself in gear on Tuesday with a track day at the wheel of a 2019-spec Red Bull, but the Mexican and teammate Max Verstappen both sampled their new mount during the Milton Keynes-based outfit's filming day yesterday.
And an enthusiastic Perez was encouraged by his initial albeit short run onboard the RB16B, a car that Red Bull is keeping under wraps for now, with no pictures of Wednesday's run released by the team, a decision that has fueled a bit of intrigue about its new machine.
"I can see the potential," he said at the end of the day. "I was extremely pleased to come from the RB15 and already have a reference of how a Red Bull car feels.
"So jumping into my car, the car that I am going to be driving this year, it's incredible. I can just feel a step in overall grip at all speeds.
"I could already feel that. I haven't done a lot but I can already see that the car has good potential."
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing prepares to drive in the garage during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240116 // Usage for editorial use only //more
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Alexander Albon of Thailand driving the Red Bull Racing RB15 Honda during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240113 // Usage for editorial use only //more
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Alexander Albon of Thailand driving the Red Bull Racing RB15 Honda during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240114 // Usage for editorial use only //more
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Sergio Perez of Mexico and Red Bull Racing poses for a photo during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240117 // Usage for editorial use only //more
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Max Verstappen of Netherlands driving the Red Bull Racing RB15 Honda during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240128 // Usage for editorial use only //more
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Sergio Perez of Mexico and Red Bull Racing poses for a photo during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240129 // Usage for editorial use only //more
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Sergio Perez of Mexico and Red Bull Racing prepares to drive in the garage during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240140 // Usage for editorial use only //more
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Sergio Perez of Mexico and Red Bull Racing poses for a photo during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240141 // Usage for editorial use only //more
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing prepares to drive in the garage during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240146 // Usage for editorial use only //more
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Sergio Perez of Mexico and Red Bull Racing talks with Alexander Albon of Thailand and Red Bull Racing in the garage during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240150 // Usage for editorial use only //more
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Sergio Perez of Mexico and Red Bull Racing talks with Alexander Albon of Thailand and Red Bull Racing in the garage during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240150 // Usage for editorial use only //more
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing poses for a photo during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240164 // Usage for editorial use only //more
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Max Verstappen of Netherlands driving the Red Bull Racing RB15 Honda during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240171 // Usage for editorial use only //more
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Max Verstappen of Netherlands driving the Red Bull Racing RB15 Honda during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240174 // Usage for editorial use only //more
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner looks on in the garage during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240178 // Usage for editorial use only //more
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Max Verstappen of Netherlands driving the Red Bull Racing RB15 Honda during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240198 // Usage for editorial use only //more
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Sergio Perez of Mexico and Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner pose for a photo with the RB15 during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240204 // Usage for editorial use only //more
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Sergio Perez of Mexico and Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing, Alexander Albon of Thailand and Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, the Chief Technical Officer of Red Bull Racing and Pierre Wache, Chief Engineer of Performance Engineering at Red Bull Racing pose for a photo with the RB15 during the Red Bull Racing Filming Day at Silverstone on February 24, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images for Red Bull Racing) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202102240221 // Usage for editorial use only //more
Max Verstappen insisted Wednesday's filming was about "getting comfortable" with Red Bull's new car rather than assessing its level of performance relative to its predecessor.
"Of course, there are differences," he said. "I mean, already the big change is of course the floor, they cut it a lot on the rear. So the car is always going to behave a bit differently.
"But it's not about setup work or whatever. It's just about getting comfortable with the car and get a basic understanding of the car. And then all the work has to be done anyway in Bahrain."
Teams will enjoy just three days of testing at Sakhir next month, or a day and a half for each driver. But Perez expects to extend his learning period into the first fex races of the 2021 season.
"It takes a lot of time to be 100% comfortable and I expect myself to be doing changes in the first five races of getting very comfortable with the car," he said.
"But I have to say that we've done a lot of progress on that. We've changed the seat. We have adjusted the belts.
"Every time we were doing something different. So that's the priority, to get me comfortable with it, so when we go to Bahrain we are ready to kick some ass."
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Phillip van Osten
Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.