Throwback: Red Bull endure bizarre F1 test with no front wing

The build-up to the 2015 F1 season saw three pre-season tests take place - the first was at Jerez before a duo of outings in Barcelona.

At Red Bull, the team was going through a significant change as it entered the year without Sebastian Vettel, who had opted to join Ferrari. 

Replacing the four-time champion was Daniil Kvyat, who made the step up after his rookie season at Toro Rosso. 

But the Russian driver endured a less than ideal start to his stint at the team. On Monday, February 2, 2015, during the second day of testing at Jerez, Kvyat damaged his car.

The Russian hit the tyre pile between Turns 2 and 3 during an installation lap on the cold asphalt, damaging the RB11's only available front wing.

"This kind of thing happens, but it happened at the wrong time," Kvyat acknowledged afterwards. 

He explained that he was adjusting something on the steering wheel when it went wrong.

Team boss Christian Horner described the incident as a light touch, but the consequences were dire. 

Red Bull did not have a spare wing with them, something Horner said was "relatively common for this time of year" during early winter testing.

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Further testing without a wing

Instead of pulling the car in, Red Bull decided to continue anyway. Kvyat eventually completed 18 laps without the front wing, albeit with a severely restricted program. 

The goal was simple: to check that the car's systems were working properly. The experience itself was far from pleasant. 

"The car is completely different. The downforce drops off almost completely,” Kvyat said. The front tyres slid considerably in the corners due to the lack of downforce.

There were no indications that the FIA objected to Red Bull's emergency solution. After all, it was not a deliberate development experiment, but simply muddling through while waiting for spare parts from the factory in Milton Keynes. 

Horner reported that the team should be able to resume normal testing on Tuesday morning once the new parts arrive.

The incident did not provide Red Bull with any useful data, just an uncomfortable anecdote from Kvyat's first days with the team.