P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Red Bull hit ‘remarkable’ milestone as Ford engine wows insiders
Red Bull’s F1 testing data on the first day of the Barcelona shakedown impressed Sky Sports’ Ted Kravitz and Craig Slater. Kravitz and Slater analyzed the unofficial data, highlighting Isack Hadjar completing 108 laps in the RB22 with a quick time of 1:18.159, while George Russell of Mercedes completed 95 laps with a time of 1:18.696. Esteban Ocon and Haas led in mileage with 154 laps on day one. Kravitz noted the different tyre strategies of Red Bull and Mercedes in testing.
The significant number of laps driven on Monday drew praise from Kravitz, who called it incredible for a major rule change. Red Bull’s impressive mileage caught attention, with Slater pointing out the new technical partnership with Ford. Day one results were promising but Max Verstappen’s spin on day two highlighted the ongoing challenges. Hadjar’s crash on day two emphasized the testing difficulties.
Despite concerns raised by Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies about the power unit’s challenges, the team’s reliability on day one was commendable. The future performance of Red Bull’s new power unit remains uncertain, as they navigate the complexities of developing their engine from scratch.
