Max Verstappen says Mercedes still holds the advantage over Red Bull, after the conclusion of the first 2017 Formula 1 pre-season test.
Verstappen was back behind the wheel of the new Red Bull RB13 on Thursday for the final day of running.
The circuit was covered in water for wet weather tyre testing, but the teams still managed to complete dry running too as the warm weather quickly dried the surface.
Verstappen ended the day second quickest, nine tenths off Kimi Raikkonen’s fastest time, and lapped the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya 85 times.
He said Red Bull’s main focus for the week was gaining mileage, but admitted Mercedes still seems to have the edge.
“It’s always good to run a little bit in the wet in the first week of testing,” he said. “Of course, the conditions are not ideal, as the sun is shining and the track is wet, but at least we got a first idea of what the wet tyres are like.
“In terms of the week as a whole, the most important thing for us was to make mileage and to know that all the parts were holding up.
“In general everything behaved pretty well. I think Mercedes might still have an advantage on us in terms of power at the beginning of the season but we’ll be catching up.
“For sure the car will change quite a bit before we get to Melbourne, as it will for everyone.”
