Article

To news overview © XPBimages

Max Verstappen says he has "no idea" but is "not worried" about where Red Bull stands in F1's pecking order after the first Bahrain test.

Verstappen started strongly during his day-and-a-half in the RB22 on Wednesday, racking up 136 laps before adding 61 on Friday morning for a total of 197 laps of Red Bull's tally of 337.

Rival teams, including Mercedes, were at pains to point out that Red Bull was the "benchmark" in Toto Wolff's words, with George Russell describing the advantage as "pretty scary," although the Dutchman did not top a day's running.

It is clear from the test that F1's top four teams - McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari are closely matched, with the other three all topping one day of running in Sakhir.

Questioned about where he believes Red Bull stacks up, Verstappen dismissed the question owing to the usual testing uncertainties, such as engine modes and fuel levels.

"No idea. No, I'm not really very worried about that either. We'll see in Melbourne," Verstappen told Viaplay of Red Bull's place in the pecking order.

"It is positive in the sense that we can just drive a lot of laps without any problems. As for how fast we're going... You know, not everybody is driving full speed yet.

"You don't know, so you really can't gauge that.

"If it were up to me, I'd just drive my laps and go home and enjoy myself.

"Then we'll wait it out until Melbourne, but of course, everyone always wants to make it more exciting than it is."

Also interesting:

In this video, we explore a fascinating Mercedes engine theory that is engulfing the F1 paddock. We break down how it works, why it matters, and why this advantage — if real — may be brilliant, legal… but only temporary.