Verstappen plays down F1 test spins

Max Verstappen has shrugged off his repeated Formula 1 pre-season test spins for Red Bull as he “thought we needed something to talk about” before heading to the 2020 opener.

The Dutch driver frequently spun off track during winter testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with repeat problems at the final chicane plus the higher speed Turns 4 and 5. Verstappen’s teammate Alex Albon was also caught out on a few occasions but it appeared to be an issue the Dutchman wrestled with throughout testing.

Despite concerns over an unstable rear-end setup with the RB16, Verstappen cooled concerns as he said he was finding the limits of the Red Bull package in the relative safe situation of testing rather than taking greater risks during a race weekend.

“I knew I was going to come here today so I thought we needed something to talk about,” Verstappen told the media on the final day of testing. “So I gave it a few spins out there.

“I think it is something that happens and I wanted to try the limits of the car as well. I think that worked pretty well by having a few spins and finding where the limit is.”

While Verstappen has been caught out by repeated spins, he feels the 2020 Red Bull F1 car isn’t a total surprise given the team’s targets to make the RB16 an evolution on its predecessor.

“We always try to improve in every single aspect and I think so far the car has been feeling good so it is an improvement from last year,” he said. “That’s what we wanted. So no real surprises there.

“For us it is about doing laps and not really looking at lap times in testing. The car feels good.”