SAKHIR-. The head of Red Bull Christian Horner was present at the beginning of the preseason training sessions of the Formula 1 when he faces an investigation by the company that owns the equipment for alleged inappropriate behavior.
Horner accompanied the team’s chief technology officer, Adrian Newey, when Max Verstappen drove the new Red Bull car in Wednesday’s morning session. It was the start of the Dutchman’s campaign for a fourth world title in a row.
Red Bull’s parent company announced on February 5 that it had opened an investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct made by a team employee. Horner has denied any wrongdoing and has continued in his duties as chief pending an investigation.
On the track, Red Bull set the fastest time in the first session. Max Verstappen set the tone by being 0.699 seconds faster than Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, and also overtook his rival near the end of the day.
“I think lap times don’t mean anything right now,” said Mexican Sergio Pérez, Verstappen’s teammate. “The most important thing is to complete our program and try to make sure we have three good days of testing because that’s basically all we can do. we will have for the season. That is the main purpose for us.”
While most teams designed cars similar to the 2023 Red Bull, which only lost one race, Red Bull modified the design. The Red Bull model now has a vertical air intake in its sidepods. It resembles a strategy that Mercedes tried in the past without much success, but Verstappen’s times suggest that Red Bull would have hit the nail on the head.
FOUNTAIN: AP
