Formula 1: Verstappen tells reporters he is waiting until Bahrain to discuss Red Bull’s 2021 car

Max Verstappen “did not want to hype things up” after driving Red Bull’s 2021 car for the first time.

The Dutchman, who was speaking to reporters following the team’s ‘filming day’ test, added that “Mercedes must be the favourites” despite Red Bull’s progress during the winter.

“I am always very realistic and it makes no sense to talk about stuff now,” the 23-year-old said. “We have to go to Bahrain and look at it there. In the first race we will know if we succeeded or not.

“I don’t like to talk it up at the moment. We know where we want to be and where we want to get to and that’s what we have to realise.”

Verstappen, who drove alongside new teammate Sergio Perez at Silverstone last month, finished third in the 2020 Drivers’ Standings, 134 points behind seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton.

Amid new cost-season rules implemented in response to the pandemic, development during the off-season is expected to be less pronounced than in previous years. Teams were awarded two ‘development tokens’ to allow them to upgrade structural and mechanical parts of the car from last season. Aerodynamic departments are not affected by the new regulations.

It is going to be interesting to see who did the best

–Max Verstappen

In an effort to reduce cornering speeds, rules covering the size of the floor at the rear of cars have also been implemented.

“The floor is still a big change,” Verstappen said. “To try to recover all that downforce loss will be important. It is going to be interesting to see who did the best.

“At the moment, of course, I don’t know where we are. Mercedes was still the dominant car towards the end of the season so we of course know we have to keep improving.”

Since establishing himself as Red Bull’s senior driver, Verstappen has emerged at the top of the list to replace Hamilton at Mercedes. The six-time World Champion, who signed a one-year contract extension in January, could retire at the end of the season.

When asked about his future with Red Bull, Verstappen said: “I don’t know what Lewis is going to do. I just focus on myself and I am very focused on this year and trying to make it a success.

“It is so early in the season that those kinds of things I am not really thinking about at this stage.”

They have done a lot of progress from what I have seen so far

–Sergio Perez

In his first comments as a Red Bull driver, Sergio Perez acknowledged that the RB16B is “quite different” from the Racing Point he drove last season. The Mexican, who drove a Mercedes-powered car last term, was signed to replace underperforming Thai driver Alex Albon at the end of last season.

“They have done a lot of progress from what I have seen so far,” Perez told journalists at a team event last month. “They are up for it but whether that is enough to bridge the gap to the Mercs remains to be seen. We are pushing extremely hard and things are interesting.”

Red Bull will part company with engine constructor Honda at the end of the season, with the Japanese giant set to exit the sport. The Milton Keynes-based team will produce its own power-unit for the first time in 2022, marking a significant milestone in Red Bull’s investment in motorsport.