For Christian Horner, two days of testing are enough to prepare for the season

Before the start of the 2023 season, teams and drivers have only three days of testing to test their new cars before the beginning of the season. This marks a decrease compared to the 2022 season, where an unofficial test in Barcelona was followed by the official outing in Bahrain.

However, support for only three days of testing has been limited among the drivers, for instance George Russell from Mercedes suggests that two cars should be allowed per team, rather than just one as it is currently.

Christian Horner is firmly against the idea, stating that Red Bull completed more than 70 laps in yesterday morning’s session with Max Verstappen. Aston Martin caused the only red flag of the session, and Horner suggests that the overall reliability would justify losing another day from the testing calendar.

Interviewed by the media, to find out if he was in favor of a two-car trial, the British driver replied, “No, I mean, look at the reliability we had this morning, I think we had a very early signal, which was corrected quite quickly. Taking into account the reliability and everything else, one could almost say that with the number of races promoters are looking to organize, why not have just two days of testing and then go racing?”

« Because if it creates a bit more uncertainty at the beginning of the season, is it such a bad thing? You have the whole year to address any potential issues. »

The Red Bull boss just wants a change for the 2026 season, which will see a new engine regulation in Formula 1. 2026 is a very different prospect because obviously everything is new in terms of engine concept and chassis, but with the current regulations, I think three days is too much.