Christian Horner, Team Red Bull’s team principal and chief engineer on the ground said that he wasn’t surprised by the car’s performance.
He stated “I wouldn’t say it was a shock,” as we got to watch everything going on in front of us.”
Christian Horner is the sporting director of Red Bull Racing, and he has a net worth of $10.5 million.
Next weekend sees the start of the new Formula One season in Bahrain.
A day after being cited as stating the Mercedes design was “illegal,” Red Bull team head Christian Horner acknowledged it complies with the regulations.
“It appears like it checks all the [legality] boxes,” he added, adding that it was a “extreme” view.
Horner said that his previously mentioned remarks concerning the automobile “weren’t made.”
The controversy has dominated the opening two days of testing in Bahrain, where Verstappen finished 0.13 seconds ahead of Hamilton.
The world champion was 0.479 seconds behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, with Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin third ahead of Hamilton, as a number of top officials stressed that testing could not be used to correctly gauge form.
On Saturday, there is one last day of testing before the new season begins at the same Bahrain circuit the following weekend.
In Bahrain, Mercedes introduced an update that included a new design for the wing mirrors and side pods.
What exactly is the beef between Mercedes and you?
Mercedes made headlines at the start of the Bahrain test on Thursday when they revealed an aerodynamic update to the vehicle that debuted two weeks ago in Barcelona.
The update reduces the size of the side pods and transforms the necessary side-impact components into aerodynamic wing sections with wing mirrors attached.
Horner expressed questions about the legality of the new design, which Mercedes unveiled during this week’s last pre-season test in Bahrain, according to Germany’s Auto Motor Und Sport.
“Those are not mirror mounts, but two wings,” Horner states in the piece. They’ve also added vertical baffles on the top. They have nothing to do with the mounting of the mirror.
“Mercedes, in our opinion, has taken things too far. That is not in accordance with the spirit of the rules. These wings are prohibited in our country.”
Red Bull stated the remarks were “incorrect” at first on Thursday, before stressing that they were not “official.”
The reporter in question, seasoned reporter Michael Schmidt, is a firm believer in the narrative.
Horner was challenged about the apparent discrepancy in his views at the formal press conference on Friday.
He said, ” “It has been claimed that comments were made that were not spoken. The automobile is unique and provides an intriguing solution. The Mercedes seems to be in compliance with the rules. It’s simply a new way of looking at things, a different answer.”
“There’s nothing that defines the spirit of the rules; it either conforms or it doesn’t,” he said. It’s not for us to pass judgment on it.
“The FIA, the [governing body], has access to all of the designs. A design like that would very certainly have been submitted ahead of time. It’s an intriguing notion, and it’s a ground-breaking concept. Is it, then, swift or not? Only time will tell, but it is very much an FIA concern in terms of compliance.”
Vettel sported a helmet with a pro-Ukraine logo.
Who is the fastest?
It was “difficult to discern” whether teams were in the best competitive form, according to Horner.
“What you can say is that the first snap shot the fuel comes out will be next Saturday [in qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix], when people go as near to the weight restriction as they can,” he remarked.
“Mercedes hasn’t revealed their hand yet, in my opinion. Ferrari seems to be in top form. Hopefully, we’ll be able to attend as well. McLaren seems to have a capable vehicle. Alpine has a powerful vehicle.”
Sainz also refuted Mercedes driver George Russell’s opinion that Ferrari was in the greatest form thus far.
“It’s classic Mercedes, typical George,” the Spaniard remarked, “to build up the others and then come to the first race and blow the opposition away.”
“If it were their first season, I may believe them, but they’ve been doing it for five or six years and continue to surprise us in the first race. As you may guess, I’m not a big believer.”
According to Sainz, research of the GPS speed traces made available to all teams indicated that Mercedes were quite competitive.
“We can already see what they’re doing with GPS,” he continued, “and, sure… I’m not going to say anything.”
McLaren stated that they were hampered by front brake issues that necessitated the purchase of new components before they could be resolved.
Due to sickness, their driver Daniel Ricciardo missed a second day of racing, forcing Norris to drive again.
Andreas Seidl, the team’s manager, said he was “very confident” that the Australian will be able to compete on the last day.
A fire in the back brakes prompted Nicholas Latifi to spin out during the morning session, and there was a failure at the rear when the fire was contained, thus Williams missed the most of the day’s racing. The crew was unable to re-enter the building.
Day one of the Bahrain test yielded the fastest times.
1 minute 33.532 seconds * Carlos Sainz (Spain)
2 Red Bull Max Verstappen (Ned) 1:34.011*
Aston Martin Aston Martin 3 Lance Stroll (Can) 1:34.064 *
4 Mercedes 1:34.141 Lewis Hamilton (GB)
Alpine 1:34.276 * 5 Esteban Ocon (Fra)
Ferrari 1:34.366 6 Charles Leclerc (Mon)
McLaren 1:34.609 Lando Norris (GB) 7th
Aston Martin Aston Martin 8 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) 1:36.020
Haas 1:36.505 Kevin Magnussen (Den)
Yuki Tsunoda (Japan) 10th place Alpha Tauri 1:36.802
Valtteri Bottas (Fin) 11 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Alfa Romeo 1:36.987 **
Haas 1:37.846 Mick Schumacher (Ger) 12
1:38.585 George Russell (GB) Mercedes
Williams, Nicholas Latifi (Can) 14:39.845 **
Alfa Romeo 15 Zhou Guanyu (Chi) 1:41.805 **
C4 tyres are indicated by an asterisk (*); C2 tyres are indicated by an asterisk (**). C3 at all other instances. C5 is the softest, while C1 is the toughest. In pre-season testing, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were second and fourth quickest, respectively, as the debate about Mercedes’ vehicle took a new turn.
The “formula 1 car” is a type of race car that has been used in Formula One racing for decades. The cars are single-seaters without any wings or other aerodynamic devices and powered by an internal combustion engine.
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