F1 | Verstappen optimistic: “Bahrain? The RB20 promises very well”

Red Bull arrives in Bahrain with two important news. On the one hand, the acquittal of Christian Horner from the accusations made against him in recent weeks, on the other the awareness of having a car that, once again, is positioned as the great favorite to win the world title.

A belief shared within the paddock, even by the most direct rivals, such as Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin, who have not hidden how at the moment the ranking indicates that Red Bull is still distant. Clearly all the teams are eagerly waiting to understand what the order will be and what the values ​​on the field will be, with an appointment in Bahrain which last year already said a lot about what the world championship would be like.

Twelve months ago, after the first race in Bahrain, George Russell warned everyone that there would be a risk of seeing an RB19 capable of conquering all the rounds of the season and that would have been the case if it hadn't been for the exception of Singapore.

At Red Bull they are aware that they have another potentially winning car in their hands, but on the other hand they are clearly also playing a bit of pre-tactics, with all the doubts that a start to the season that has not yet saw his first race. However, what was seen in the tests was defined as very promising, also because Verstappen found himself at ease with the RB20 right from the start, so much so that he jokingly said that even fewer test laps would have been enough for him on the first day.

“We had a good test session, with many laps completed. We did the whole programme, I felt comfortable with the car, so I think from that point of view it's all very promising, but you never know what can happen at the weekend. I'm just happy to get started and see where we are,” said the three-time world champion on the media day in Bahrain on the eve of the world championship.

With the conclusion of the Horner case, resolved with the acquittal of the Team Principal, Red Bull can return to focus on the season, but Verstappen himself had underlined on several occasions how the investigation would not influence the preparation of the championship. A concept repeated even today: “It doesn't affect us. I'm only focused on the performance of the car, on myself, let's hope it's resolved very soon. The whole team remained united to continue winning.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Bahrain also represents the start of a very long and full of pitfalls season, with twenty-four events on the calendar. A quantity that cannot be underestimated, both on a physical and mental level. For Verstappen, the current configuration of the world championship has already far exceeded the limit, which is why F1 should rethink the functioning of the calendar, focusing more on the quality of the races than on the quantity. A concept expressed on several occasions, but underlined even more clearly on the eve of the longest championship in history, even if the Dutchman is aware that F1 does not seem particularly ready to listen to the needs of those who live in the paddock.

“I think we are already way over the limit in terms of the number of races. I know I'm still very young, but I know I won't continue for another ten years doing 24 races a season. I think it's a question of quality over quantity. We need to look at ourselves carefully. From my point of view, I love racing, a lot and I also race outside of Formula 1, but such a program is not sustainable,” added the driver from Hasselt.

“At a certain point you start to look at the quality of life or the sport you practice. At a certain point you start to prefer staying at home, focusing on other projects. It's truly absurd how much needs to be done for this sport. We certainly have to look at ourselves because, if other drivers also think like this… But in the end it is clearly Formula 1 that must decide what to do with its sport. People on the inside are starting to have shorter careers because the timetable is too long, which is a shame.”