Isack Hadjar reveals surprise after Red Bull F1 debut

Isack Hadjar has admitted he was surprised by how much mileage Red Bull was able to clock up during the opening day of pre-season testing.

Hadjar was behind the wheel of the RB22 in Barcelona on Monday as the Milton Keynes-based squad used one of its three days this week to collect data.

It is believed the Frenchman tallied up over 100 laps during the day as he prepares for his first season with the team.

The test also marked the debut of Red Bull's own in-house engine, built in collaboration with Ford.

Although revealing that there were minor issues during the day, Hadjar was impressed by how much running he was able to get through.

 “It was pretty productive,” Hadjar said. 

“Surprisingly, we managed to do a lot more laps than we expected. Everything went pretty smooth. 

“We had only minor issues, so it's quite impressive, considering it's our first day with our own engine. It was definitely smooth.

“I couldn't have prepared the year better, so I'm happy to have at least a very good first day to pay that off. 

“But we are definitely not done with the work.”

The cars have undergone significant changes this year in both the power unit and aerodynamics departments.

Offering his early verdict on the cars, Hadjar said: “It's definitely a lot less load in general. 

“It's a bit more predictable compared to the previous generation of cars. 

“They are more simple. It's easier to play around with them. 

“On the PU side, there are a lot more options for the driver to play with. I already started to work on it, so that was very interesting.”