Formula 1 - Visa Cash App Racing Bulls - 2025 BAHRAIN PRE-SEASON TESTING

YUKI TSUNODA

“We have had three productive days ending with this afternoon’s good quality session, combining long and short runs. The long run pace looked quite good, but the most important aspect of this test is the useful data we now have to work with. It has already shown us which areas we need to focus on now and for future development. We made progress over the three days and, on a personal level, it was great to be driving a fast car again after the winter, being in a new car and running with other cars on track. Well done to the people back in the factory in Italy and the UK, who developed the car during the off-season. I’m feeling ready for Australia.”

ISACK HADJAR

“This morning I did more laps than any other driver and we did a perfect job of getting through the programme we had set ourselves. We did everything we wanted to, we tested all the items on the list and I gained a lot of experience, getting a good understanding of the car. I also did a race simulation over 57 laps, which is something I had never done before. I think we were quite good on the long runs, but with more work still to do on the short ones in order to get the most out of the car on a single lap. Overall, it’s been a very positive three days during which we gathered lots of data that we will now analyse and look to correlate in the simulator next week. I’ve enjoyed working with the team since I joined and the relationship is progressing, especially with Pierre my race engineer, the other engineers and the mechanics. It’s going very well. I’m really pumped about Melbourne!”

LAURENT MEKIES, Team Principal

“Everyone in the factory has put a huge effort into preparing for this test, the final step before we go racing and overall, these past three days were successful. We had no major car issues, which meant we were able to complete a very high mileage, allowing us to gather plenty of data and learn more about the VCARB 02. The drivers did an excellent job, Yuki as motivated as ever and Isack proving to be a quick learner. The unusual for Bahrain weather, with quite cold conditions and even some rain, certainly did not help, but it was the same for all the teams and now when we travel to Melbourne we will learn much more about how the car works, especially its interaction with the tyres at the much higher track temperatures we can expect to find towards the end of the Australian summer. Before that, we are now rushing back to Faenza and Milton Keynes to analyse all the data and to see how the results that emerged from the Sakhir track correlate with the simulator. There are a few days left to prepare for a very busy season, and we probably won’t really have an idea of where we stand until the end of Saturday qualifying in Albert Park.”