Red Bull Racing completes 'smooth first day' with new in-house engine in the RB22
Isack Hadjar was satisfied with his first day sitting in the RB22 at the Barcelona pre-season test.
"Surprisingly, we managed to do a lot more laps than we expected. Everything went pretty smooth."- Isack Hadjar
On Monday morning, Red Bull Racing unveiled the new RB22, which later hit the track for the first time at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Today, it was Hadjar's turn to drive the new Red Bull car, equipped with the new Red Bull Ford power unit, while Max Verstappen did not complete a single lap.
Speaking to F1.com after the session, the Frenchman was satisfied with his day.
He said: "Yes, it was pretty productive. Surprisingly, we managed to do a lot more laps than we expected. Everything went pretty smooth.
"We had only minor issues, so it's quite impressive considering it's our first day with our own engine. So it was definitely smooth."
Hadjar also passed his first verdict on the new generation of cars. He explained: "A lot less load in general. It's a bit more predictable compared to the previous generation of cars.
"They're more simple, it's easier to play around with them. And also on the PU side, there's a lot more options for the driver to play with, so I already started to work on it today, so that was very interesting."
Regarding the drivability of the new power unit, he concluded: "Honestly it's pretty decent for a first day.
"Yes, it doesn't feel too far off what I'm used to, at least during my first season, regarding all the upshifts, downshifts. That was OK, so there's still a few things to tweak, of course, but it's solid."
Hadjar sets unofficial quickest time
While the lap times were not meant to be broadcast this week, during the first half of the day, they were streamed on a YouTube channel.
Reportedly, by the end of Day 1, Hadjar was the driver with the quickest time. His fastest lap was, unofficially, a 1:18.159 in Barcelona.
Whether any teams will run test programs on Tuesday remains to be seen, as heavy rain is forecast.
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