Pre-season testing always provides teams with a lot of input before the real F1 action begins. But when incidents like ‘a drain cover hitting the underbody of a car’ arise, teams have a headache. On day three of testing, a loose drain cover hit Sergio Perez’s Red Bull, and it had the team concerned. Their Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey, channeled his inner mechanic while taking a look at the floor of Perez’s RB20.
This isn’t the first time a loose drain cover marred a session in 2024’s test. The first victim was Charles Leclerc, which reduced day two’s morning session by an hour after it was red-flagged. Now, Perez finds himself in a similar position.
According to Red Bull, no damage to Checo’s car from running over the drain cover.
[@LukeSmithF1 | @AlbertFabrega] #F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/lMQR8Bnktc
— RBR News (@redbulletin) February 23, 2024
Amidst this, Newey, who is 65 years old, decided to lie down on the floor and get under the RB20 to get a better look at the floor. Newey being the boss, wanted to check for damage himself. Looking at this, fans started pleading for Newey to take it easy.
Adrian Newey advised to ease off following the Sergio Perez incident
Newey, despite having achieved everything in F1, remains hungrier than ever to win more. His unique passion was on display once again on day three of 2024’s testing, when he decided to check for floor damage himself, like a mechanic would. Fans definitely showed their appreciation on Twitter (now X).
Que pasión, que dedicación. Es único!
— Vio R. (@Vio_Rh_) February 23, 2024
Still, it didn’t stop some from being surprised. Usually, the bosses at a team don’t work like Newey was in Bahrain after the Sergio Perez incident. Normally, the mechanics would have reported to Newey with news of potential floor damage. This had several fans puzzled.
Que pasión, que dedicación. Es único!
— Vio R. (@Vio_Rh_) February 23, 2024
Newey’s genius is so well respected that some fans, like Aaron, felt he would run simulations just by looking at the floor. The user posted about the same on X.
I would imagine he is running fluid simulations in his brain just by eyeballing the floor
— Aaron (@mmd_aaron) February 23, 2024
One of the most hilarious reactions, however, belonged to a user who begged Newey to rest. “Can someone ask bro to rest please? We get it. You have built a rocketship,” the user wrote on X.
Can someone ask bro to rest please?
We get it.
You have built a rocketship.
— FergiesRightRef (@FergiesRightRef) February 23, 2024
Newey was admittedly worried. In just the third day of testing, Red Bull wouldn’t want to replace a floor, which is added work and cost for the outfit. Thankfully, there was no damage to the Mexican’s car. Perez’s session, however, got cut short. He drove throughout day two, so on the final day, Max Verstappen is set to take over when the second session starts.
