Feb.23 - Oracle Red Bull Racing’s RB18 was out on track for pre-season testing in Barcelona this morning, with Max Verstappen at the wheel as Formula One enters a new generation of technical regulations.

Last week, Verstappen and Sergio 'Checo' Pérez got a first look at the team’s 2022 car at an official filming day at Silverstone’s International Circuit. Max got behind the wheel of the RB18 for a series of runs as the team gathered promotional footage ahead of the season start in Bahrain next month.

Verstappen said: “We got our first impression of the RB18 at our filming day last week and the car looks good. The rules are very different this year and so it is nice to get your first few laps in and get a feel for it."

Discussing the upcoming campaign, he said: "I don’t have any aims for the season yet, I just want to rock up to the track and try and do the best I can, like I do every single year. If the car is quick, I am sure we can do a very good job again. I am looking forward to another fun year together with the team and Checo, he is a great guy and we really push each other, which at the end of theday is good for the Team.”

On his first impressions of the new car, Pérez said: “The RB18 looks really nice and very cool, you can see straight away the amount of work which has gone into this car. The number of hours the men and women back at the factory have put in to get the RB18 on track is incredible."

When asked about his hopes for the season, Pérez explained: "I'm feeling confident within myself for this season and so I hope we have a good package this year, I can’t wait to get going in Barcelona. This season I want us to maximise our performance as a team and to win, that is the main target for 2022."

On F1's new rules, he concluded: "I think the key to succeeding under the new regulations will be how quickly teams can develop and how much they can improve throughout the season. You can see in the new cars how teams have interpreted the rules so differently, so it will be interesting come the first race to see which car is best.”

✅ Check out the photos of the first day of 2022 Pre-Season F1 Testing in Barcelona »


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