Max Verstappen believes the potential of the Red Bull-Renault package will be unlocked in Melbourne despite a few gremlins which crept in during the last week of pre-season testing.
The 19-year-old racked up 70 laps on Friday’s final day when a technical issue halted his progress, leaving him second on the timesheet, 0.8 second behind Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.
A chronic ERS issue has affected Renault’s new power unit but the Dutchman is confident the problem will be resolved by the time the team lands in Australia.
“I am not too worried,” Verstappen said.
“That is what we use testing for, to test all the bits and I am quite confident at Renault. They can solve the issues for Melbourne. It is nothing major what is happening, which is good.
“In testing you never show everything you can do, it is all about trying to improve the car and get you in good shape for Melbourne. It is not about qualifying lap times.
“The most important thing for us was to check the balance and we definitely improved but it can be better.
“It was a positive day, the performance is not too bad. We want to improve and we have to improve but it is OK for the moment.”
“In testing you never show everything you can do, it is all about trying to improve the car and get you in good shape for Melbourne. It is not about qualifying lap times.
“The most important thing for us was to check the balance and we definitely improved but it can be better.
“It was a positive day, the performance is not too bad. We want to improve and we have to improve but it is OK for the moment.”
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