Max Verstappen concluded F1's pre-season testing in Bahrain with bragging rights for setting the fastest lap time, despite never giving his Red Bull RB18 "full beans" during the final session.
Verstappen was the only driver to break into the 1m31s bracket at Sakhir, the Dutchman setting his best time on Pirelli's softest C5 compound and outpacing Ferrari's Charles Leclerc but a comfortable 0.695 seconds.
But the Red Bull driver was quick to play down the relative performance, contending that no team had approached the limit of their car in Bahrain.
"Nobody is in full beans qualifying spec at the moment," Verstappen told F1 TV at the end of Saturday's running.
©RedBull
Red Bull rolled out a revised RB18 in the morning that featured more tapered sidepods and a different-spec front wing, both of which appeared to benefit the team's new design.
Yet Verstappen pointed to Pirelli's tyres and to the team's understanding of its rubber as a major area of improvement.
"I think the main focus was about the tyres that we're going to use next week," added the reigning world champion.
"The car was feeling alright, and we went through our programme we planned to do, and that's always positive, I think."
"Of course, the car is better in low fuel, and naturally on high fuel the car is a bit lazy and it doesn't really do a lot. But it's the same for everyone.
"I think the new parts which were on today, they also worked well, which you always hope for."
Verstappen underscored the very different perception and feeling he now has of his car compared to the Barcelona test, most of which is due to track conditions.
"Compared to Barcelona more of it is just the track, you know, the rough surface, warmer conditions and that," he said. "The layout of the track makes it a completely different feeling compared to Barcelona.
"But yeah, of course, I think we learned a lot more about the car, so we made the car faster. And I think that's what you want."
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
