Verstappen impressed by ‘good surprises’ in Red Bull’s RB21 debut

Red Bull made a strong start to their 2025 pre-season testing in Bahrain this Wednesday, putting their new RB21 through its paces with Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson splitting driving duties.

The duo racked up 132 laps around the 5.412 km circuit, gathering crucial data for the season ahead.

The reigning four-time world champion set an impressive fastest time of 1:30.674 after 74 laps, while Lawson, getting his first proper feel for the car in his new team, posted a 1:31.560 over 58 laps.

Verstappen Satisfied with RB21’s Early Performance

"From the driving I did today everything felt good," said Verstappen. "Only good surprises which was good. We don’t know pace yet but everything is working well and the car is doing what I want it to do.

"It is all in control and that is what we can hope for really to start off my testing."

"We are constantly learning and trying different things and will continue to do so," he added.

"It is not about hitting the perfect lap but it is about working on our testing programme and learning what direction we need to push the car forwards to get it under control."

Lawson Focused on Learning and Integration

On the other side of the Red Bull garage, F1’s not-so-rookie Liam Lawson echoed his teammate’s positive first impressions.

For the New Zealander, these early laps are doubly important, not only to maximize his understanding of the RB21 but also to integrate seamlessly into a team he’s only just started working with.

"I had so much fun out there today and it was so good to finally drive the new car properly and do some laps," declared Lawson.

"It feels okay but obviously it is very early days, so it’s very much about learning at the moment."

"For me, there is a lot more to come because I need to learn a lot moving teams but from a Team side we are just trying to learn about the new car, and optimise these testing days.

"We had a plan of test items, and we managed to go through the whole plan, which is always good."

"We go into tomorrow with a lot more running and a better idea of where to improve the car. It’s hard to tell where we are in terms of pace but the car feels good to drive and comfortable. Testing is just as important to me, as it is for the Team to learn about the car. It’s crucial to maximise these days before Melbourne."

• Read also: McLaren and Norris top Day 1 of pre-season testing in Bahrain

Red Bull's Technical Director Pierre Wache encapsulated the team's sentiment at the close of Day 1 of Bahrain’s pre-season testing.

"Today was a good working day with both drivers. With Liam in the morning, we tried to make some set-up changes to see how the car reacted to it and then in the afternoon when we changed to Max, we continued the programme with a different set-up change to see how we can understand the car for the next couple of days of Testing.

"We used two compounds, the C2 and C3, for both drivers, mainly to be able to do a consistent run and not focussed on extracting the most of the lap time but to understand how the car reacts."

Pre-season testing will resume on Thursday on the International Circuit of Sakhir. Here's all you need to know.

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