There was confusion and drama on the opening day of pre-season testing at Bahrain as false news circulated the paddock
Mercedes grabbed the attention during the pre-season testing in Bahrain on Thursday when their newly designed car had several changes. The eight-time Constructors’ champions flaunted their new sidepod designs which were significantly narrower than the ones that were spotted in Barcelona last month.
According to a few top sources, Red Bull Principal Christian Horner reportedly called out Mercedes’ car. Credible news outlets such as Autosport and Sport had reported that the Englishman labelled the new Mercedes car ‘illegal’.
“The new Mercedes violates the spirit of the regulations. For us, there are some parts that are not legal.” Horner was reported to have said. However, once the statements were released online, Red Bull quickly denied any of those statements made by Horner.
Red Bull deny ‘false’ comments made by Christian Horner
Within minutes of Horner’s reported comments on the Mercedes car, Red Bull responded with a statement of their own. “Please note, Christian has not spoken with any media or made any comments about the Mercedes car.” the four-time Constructors’ champions stated.
Despite Red Bull’s statements, it is believed that Horner had, in fact, spoken to certain media outlets on Thursday. The Milton Keyes-based team then released a second statement in which they claimed that Horner made ‘no official comments’ about Mercedes.
“So we are clear, we have made no official comment regarding Mercedes’ car and will not be doing so,” read the second statement from Red Bull.
Amid the chaos with the media, there was some action on the Bahrain International circuit as well on Thursday. At the end of the first day of testing, Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly topped the time charts with Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc 2nd and 3rd respectively.
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