Red Bull boss acknowledges power unit 'tension' as key F1 milestone reached

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has admitted the team was feeling “tension” as it awaited the first laps with its new power unit.

The Red Bull RB22 made its first on-track appearance on Monday with Isack Hadjar behind the wheel.

It marked the debut of the DM01 power unit, Red Bull's first ever in-house-built engine.

With the project in the works for several years, Red Bull's opening day was a relatively smooth one with no major issues arising with its engine.

Reflecting on the culmination of many hours of hard work, Mekies said: "We knew it would be a very special moment to be here for the first time with RB22, with our own power unit.

“It came with that special atmosphere and tension.

"The last few months and weeks have been incredibly hectic to be ready.

“Ultimately, we were ready on Monday morning to run and I can only take that opportunity to say a big thank you and well done to everybody back in Milton Keynes chassis and power unit side.

“It was incredible to see the car going out at a few minutes past nine on Monday morning with our own power unit.”

Mekies has consistently downplayed the competitiveness of the engine, expressing on several occasions that it can't be directly compared to the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari, who have long been engine manufacturers in F1.

The Frenchman continued this outlook after seeing the car take to the track earlier this week.

“We have to do our homework and we have to do it step by step,” Mekies added.

Red Bull's test programme took a hit on Tuesday evening when Hadjar slipped off the road and collided with the barrier, ruling it out of running on Wednesday.