Red Bull: An Exhaust Problem and Some Satisfaction
Despite an exhaust issue that kept the Red Bull RB10 in the pits for much of the afternoon, the Austrian team is rather satisfied with its day yesterday, during which it was able to complete some long runs.
With 39 laps completed on the first day of the final winter testing, Red Bull is not among the most active teams, and for good reason: an exhaust issue forced the team to work on the car for part of the afternoon. A delicate situation, but one that the members of the Austrian firm want to view positively, as Thursday morning went without too many hitches.
Daniel Ricciardo (#3), who was at the wheel and will be again today, believes there are positives to take from the first part of the day: « The morning was much better for us with some long stints. The package seems better. We still had some issues today, but at least when the car was on track, it was more useful running and we made progress. It’s starting to come together. »
The Australian, who will therefore start his last day at the wheel of the RB10 before his national Grand Prix from March 14 to 16, is one of the drivers who has driven the least since the start of pre-season testing: « I would like to continue, but at least Seb will have two days after me in the car, so I think we’ll be good for the next three days. »
On the side of the staff at the Milton Keynes structure, the tone is the same and Andy Damerum, race engineering coordinator, mostly sees the positives: « We had a really good start [yesterday] morning and did some useful running, which was a good thing. We were able to run consistently and without any issues, and the plan was to gradually increase the length of the runs. »
However, indications showed that a new issue was emerging: « Everything was going as planned. We sent Daniel for a longer stint, but we had to end it after 5 laps because we noticed some problems with the sensors, » he explains. « We brought him in, looked at the car, and discovered that we had an issue with the exhaust. So we spent a long afternoon in the garage, but we managed to send Daniel back on track at the end of the session, which was positive. »
A repair carried out “in time,” but the work to be done on the RB10 will still be significant: « We still have work to do this evening [last night, ed.] but I hope that tomorrow we will be able to run like [yesterday] morning. » Answer during the live editorial for this second day of testing.
