On Thursday, all the teams, for the first time, roared their cars this year at the Bahrain International Circuit to participate in the first day of the pre-season testing. Sergio Perez didn’t appear for his team, and the whole day was scheduled for Max Verstappen. Yet he had some feedback from day 1 to give.
In 2023, Red Bull is stepping into the season as the favorites to win the title. They also are showing brilliance, as Verstappen remained at P1 for almost the entirety of the evening session on Thursday.
But for Perez, it’s not enough to believe that Red Bull could replicate their last year’s championship campaigns. As of this time, most of the teams don’t even show their whole cards. And with these comments, Perez is probably also not doing so.
Also read: What happened to Aston Martin’s Felipe Drugovich in F1 pre-season testing?
Too early to know where Red Bull stands
With 23 races in this season, it’s a long season ahead. Many teams even hesitate to show their actual progress and only have limited objectives they need to achieve before hustling into the season. Moreover, drivers are only getting to know their cars at this stage. So seeing everything on the table, Perez feels it’s too early in the season to judge Red Bull’s prospects.
“We had some problems this morning with aero sensors that didn’t read well. The circuit is very bumpy, and we all have car balance problems. It’s too early to know where we are. Really looking forward to getting on tomorrow,” said Perez to SkySports.
The Mexican race driver is scheduled to ignite his car from Friday morning and will have the whole Saturday in his name. He would be eyeing to maximize his window and settling in his new car before the following week’s first race of the season.
Sergio Perez gets advice from former Red Bull driver
Last season, it was apparent that Verstappen is the main driver for Red Bull in the pecking order and is their likely candidate for the drivers’ championship for the foreseeable future.
However, Checo, in the last phases of the 2022 season, started to show championship ambitions. Therefore, former Red Bull driver David Coulthard has some special advice before he locks the horn with his teammate.
Coulthard claimed that Perez should be training extensively on his physical and mental strength to get better off the two-time world champion in 2023.
Also read: Former F1 Boss Claims Mick Missed Out on 7-Time World Champion’s Mentorship
