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Getting to grips with the new spec tyres was the focus for Red Bull on the final day of Formula 1 pre-season testing in Bahrain.
Max Verstappen ended the day fastest with a 1:31.720s in the final 10 minutes of running, the fastest time across all three days of running.
But while that left him comfortably fastest, the team’s head of race engineering warns against reading anything into the lap time.
“The lap times are irrelevant,” said Guillaume Rocquelin.
“Today was more about putting together the lessons we have learned over the past few days.
“It was about going through the process of running different compounds, so that the drivers are happy and that we have a platform to work from for next week.
“There were some slight differences in the tyre allocation between Max and Checo [Sergio Perez], but generally the idea was the same, to establish a good baseline with which we can start the race weekend and I think we achieved that.”
Verstappen was left satisfied with the performance but warned his lap time wasn’t everything the Red Bull has to offer.
“The main focus today was testing the tyres we are going to use next week,” he explained.
“The car felt alright and we completed the programme we set out to do, so that’s always positive.
“No one gives full beans or goes to qualifying spec at testing, so we can’t read too much into the timing screens.
“The new parts we tested today worked well which is what we always hope for.”
Perez added: “This morning was good. We have definitely learned a lot throughout this testing period and I think there is still so much to learn.
“There are lots of areas for improvement to arrive at the best performance package possible.
“Generally, we had a positive day and now I’m just looking forward to the race next weekend.”
The 2022 Formula 1 season gets underway with the Bahrain Grand Prix next weekend, opening practice for which starts at 23:00 AEDT on Friday.
