Marko acknowledges Red Bull setback after testing ‘handicap’

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has reflected on a difficult day of testing for the Milton Keynes-based squad.

Liam Lawson was handed a full day behind the wheel of the RB21 but a water pressure concern kept him in the garage while the team worked on his car.

Rainfall at the Bahrain International Circuit also halted running for a short period, further limiting his mileage.

Lawson is not due to drive the car again until the first free practice session of the year in Australia next month.

“We had a handicap today due to the rain and we were not able to complete our entire test programme,” Marko told motorsport.com.

“Other than that, though, it was a normal day of testing and we ran different parts of the programme.

“There was a leak in one of the coolers. That cost Liam at least 40 minutes of driving time.

“It would of course have been better if we didn't have those problems, but we still did what we could. And this is still in line [with expectations].”

Verstappen will take over driving duties on Friday to round out Red Bull's testing programme in Bahrain.

However, after missing out on data on day two, Marko confirmed it will be playing catch up during the final day of running.

“It was a completely different program today, which means tomorrow will be an important day.

“Our experiences from today will be included in tomorrow's program.”