‘Miracle’ Red Bull even made it out on final day - Verstappen

Max Verstappen says it was a “miracle” Red Bull made it out on track for the final day of Formula 1 pre-season testing following Pierre Gasly’s big crash. 

Red Bull mechanics worked overnight to repair the wrecked RB15 following a huge incident for Gasly on the penultimate day of running. 

Gasly went off at the fast right hander of Turn 9 and hit the barriers rear-end first, causing significant damage to the team’s 2019 challenger.

Red Bull flew additional parts to Barcelona on Thursday night to ensure Verstappen could conduct some running, though he managed just 29 laps before a gearbox issue signalled a premature end to his programme. 

“The team worked so very hard to even let me drive today at all,” Verstappen said. 

“We just had very few parts. Everything came over from England last night. So, it's a miracle we were even able to go out. 

“We were a bit short on gearboxes. Two were already broken in two crashes. So that was it.

“It wasn't great today but the speed looks alright. Looking at long runs the top teams are all fairly close. We can be happy with that.” 

Despite Red Bull’s mileage setbacks on the final two days of winter testing, the Dutchman remains confident the team is better-placed heading into 2019 with new engine supplier Honda. 

Asked about Red Bull’s prospects heading to Melbourne, Verstappen replied: “It's a long season, so much can happen. 

“Last year the world championship was out of reach after the summer break. In Melbourne we need to score good points, no matter the positions. 

“We are fairly well on pace. Not sure whether it's enough, because we didn't really get to do low fuel runs. 

“If we look to the longer runs, it looks all pretty promising, so yeah, I’m looking forward to start racing now. 

“I think we have a pretty good package. And also the engine seems to work really well. So I’m really happy about that.”