The Mexican driver felt at ease on his first day of serious work with Red Bull
Red Bull Racing Team driver Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez had his first day on board the RB16B where his best time was 1: 31.682 at the Bahrain circuit. The Mexican had an incident in his car in which he lost the hood as he left the slipstream of the Williams from Nicholas latifiA very rare incident.
“It was a great day to thoroughly test the RB16B And despite the difficult circumstances out there, we had a very satisfying day and there is a lot to do. It’s great working with the whole team and I have a lot to do – I feel the potential. I have Sunday morning in the car, so I hope to get more out of the laps, ”said Pérez.
The incident the Jalisco driver had was when there was about an hour and 20 minutes left in the session, Checo was on the straight after Williams’s wake, all very routine: one car follows another around the sky to cover and the car from behind take faster speed. But when it came out of the slipstream and the air ‘hit’ the Red Bull de Checo, its force was such that it released part of the hood of the car, so Formula 1 authorities stopped training.
The Mexican finished eighth of the 16 who took to the track in Sakhir on Saturday. ‘Checo’ had no major problems on his first day with the team. It matched Pirelli’s C2 compound – a hard compound in the manufacturer’s range. All the drivers who preceded him, including Valtteri Bottas’ Mercedes that had the best time of the day, were on softer and faster tires.
Guillaume Rocquelin, the race’s chief engineer, said Pérez’s job was good, who simulated a real race to see how it fits into the early races of the Formula 1 calendar.
“He had a racing simulation today, including visits to the pits, which was really good for him, so he can better integrate into the team and speed up the processes. We had some details, nothing great and it didn’t affect our engineering program, so it’s things you find out through testing, ”he explained.
“Other than that, it was a solid day. We didn’t have a track chase and we only had one lap on the hard compound, so there are no conclusions on the timing. It were two good days and we hope to end in a good way ”, he concludes.
The F1 practice continues on Sunday from 1 AM in central Mexico. It will be early that Checo Pérez will return to driving the car and the day, the final rehearsal, will be completed by Verstappen. The next time the Guadalajara man gets on the RB16B, it will be for the first free practice on Friday the 26th for the first Grand Prix of the 2021 calendar.