Laurent Mekies looks back with satisfaction on last week’s shakedown in Barcelona. At the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Red Bull was able to put its brand-new power unit, the DM01, through its first miles. With more than 500 laps completed between Red Bull and sister team Racing Bulls and the valuable feedback from Max Verstappen on Friday, the Austrians are now gearing up for the next test in Bahrain.
The shakedown in Barcelona is finished, and Red Bull has now completed its first week with a brand-new power unit. The Austrians are out on track this year for the first time with their in-house DM01 engine — named after founder Dietrich Mateschitz — and both Red Bull drivers — Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar — managed a combined 297 laps with it. Sister team Racing Bulls logged even more, 319 laps.
Historic moment
Team principal Laurent Mekies is pleased. “We knew it would be a very special moment to be here for the first time with the RB22 and our own power unit, so on Monday there was a particular atmosphere in the garage,” the Frenchman tells F1. “The past months and weeks were incredibly hectic preparing for the shakedown, but in the end we were ready to roll out of the garage at 07:00 UTC. I want to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate everyone in Milton Keynes, both on the chassis and power unit side. It was a historic moment to see the car out on track.”
The week in Barcelona didn’t go entirely smoothly for Red Bull. On Tuesday Hadjar ran off and ended up with the RB22 backwards in the wall. Red Bull then had to wait for replacement parts from Milton Keynes to get the car fixed, and reshuffled the schedule. Verstappen therefore only returned to action on Friday. “It was an incredible effort by the team at the track and in Milton Keynes to get the RB22 ready in time,” Mekies said. “There were long nights to make a third test day possible. Max completed more than a hundred laps and provided very valuable and insightful feedback. We have a lot to take away from this week, and Max’s experience and eye for technical detail will help us as we prepare for Bahrain and beyond.”
Pride
Although, according to Mekies, Red Bull still has a long way to go, pride is the prevailing sentiment for the Frenchman right now. “If you look at our expectations for this test, I can only emphasise how proud we are of everyone at our factory,” the team principal revealed. “Of course it’s very early and nothing is perfect, but we’ve already started learning and working together as one team.”
