Red Bull Racing look in strong shape after final day of testing

Red Bull Racing drew their testing programme to a close on Friday in ominous form as they prepare for the season opener next week.

While team boss Christian Horner remained absent from the test in Bahrain as the investigation into allegations against him from the company take place, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez pounded in 390 laps across the three days to put the first mileage into the RB20.

After the most dominant season in F1 history last time out, the RB19 will be a tough act to follow, but despite Ferrari topping the time sheets in two of the three days, both Red Bull drivers are confident heading into next Saturday's season opener in the Middle East.

World champion Verstappen said: "As we head into the race weekend it is all about fine tuning the car and also seeing what the race throws at you when you push the car to the limit. We now need to look into the data a bit more and try to come up with a plan for the week ahead.

"We’ve had a really positive test and we have learned a lot from everything we changed, so we are looking forward to next week."  Perez continued: "It has been a good start to the year for the Team, we have got plenty of mileage over the last few days. The run programme that we put together was very good and meant we really made the most out of the days.

"Now it is time to look forward to the race next weekend, I have a good feeling in the car, so let’s see once we get to race it, but the feeling is very positive."