Racing Bulls wrapped up three productive days in Bahrain, showing strong pace as Tsunoda, Hadjar, and Mekies expressed confidence in the VCARB 02.
Yuki Tsunoda had a busy afternoon in Bahrain with nearly 90 laps, bringing Racing Bulls past the 150-lap mark for the day. The Japanese driver is pleased to see progress with the VCARB 02 over these three days of testing.
“We had three productive days that ended with a quality session this afternoon, combining long and short runs,” Tsunoda said at the end of the third day.
“The long-run pace seemed quite good, but the most important aspect of this test is the usefulness of the data we now have at our disposal. It has already shown us the areas we need to focus on today and for future developments.
“We made progress over these three days and, on a personal level, it was great to drive a fast car again after the winter, to be in a new car, and to race with other cars. Kudos to the people at the factory in Italy and the UK who developed the car during the offseason. I feel ready for Australia.”
With 73 laps in the morning, Isack Hadjar was highly productive, gaining crucial experience ahead of his official debut: “This morning, I did more laps than any other driver, and we perfectly completed the program we had set.”
“We did everything we wanted, tested all the items on the list, and I gained a lot of experience and a good understanding of the car. I also completed a 57-lap race simulation, something I had never done before.”
“I think we were quite strong on long runs, but there is still work to do on short runs to get the most out of the car over a single lap.”
“Overall, these three days have been very positive, and we have gathered a lot of data that we will now analyze and look to correlate in the simulator next week.”
“I have enjoyed working with the team since joining, and the relationship is progressing, especially with Pierre [Hamelin], my race engineer, as well as the other engineers and mechanics. Everything is going very well. I’m really looking forward to Melbourne!”
Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies was impressed by the work put in by his team over these three days: “Everyone at the factory put in tremendous effort to prepare for this test, the final step before the race, and overall, these last three days have been successful.”
“We haven’t had any major issues with the car, which means we were able to complete very high mileage, allowing us to gather a lot of data and learn more about the VCARB 02.”
“The drivers did an excellent job, with Yuki as motivated as ever and Isack proving to be a fast learner. The unusual weather for Bahrain, with rather cool conditions and even a bit of rain, certainly didn’t help, but it was the same for all teams.”
“Now, when we head to Melbourne, we will learn much more about how the car operates, particularly how it interacts with the tires in significantly higher track temperatures, which we can expect towards the end of the Australian summer.”
“Before that, we are rushing back to Faenza and Milton Keynes to analyze all the data and see how the results obtained at the Sakhir circuit correlate with the simulator.”
“We have a few days left to prepare for a very busy season, and we will probably not have a clear idea of our position until the end of Saturday’s qualifying at Albert Park.”
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Tsunoda & Hadjar Shine as Racing Bulls Impress in Bahrain Tsunoda & Hadjar Shine as Racing Bulls Impress in Bahrain Tsunoda & Hadjar Shine as Racing Bulls Impress in Bahrain
