"You would imagine Adrian Newey may think about throttling back": Red Bull chief designer praised for the new RB20

Former F1 driver and Sky Sports pundit Karun Chandok has praised Red Bull CTO Adrian Newey for his innovative RB20 after the first day of pre-season testing.

The reigning world champions showcased its 2024 challenger and its performance left everyone worried as Max Verstappen finished over a second ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris at the end of Day 1.

But it was Newey, who earned plaudits from all quarters, for his design for the RB20 as he seemingly pushed the boundaries of aerodynamics once again after a dominant 2023 season.

Taking to his X handle, Chandhok pointed out that the Red Bull CTO could have rested on his laurels after a 44-year-long career but Newey's involvement throughout the first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain warrants huge praise.

"44 years since he started in F1, and with 25 world titles in total, you would imagine Adrian Newey may think about throttling back… Instead, he’s on the first day of testing looking at data!!" Chandhok tweeted.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen analyzes his first impressions of the RB20

Three-time world champion Max Verstappen stated that he felt 'good' to be back in the car and was pleased with the overall performance throughout the first day of testing.

The Dutch driver said as per PitPass:

"It feels good to be back in an F1 car again, I had fun out on track today. We covered a lot of laps and tried quite a few things with the car, which was important, so happy overall with how it went. After the winter break, the first few laps always surprise you a little but then you get back into the swing of things pretty quickly."

"Overall, the car was responding well, and considering this was only testing we had a nice day. Looking to tomorrow, we are speaking to our engineers about what the plans will be, but I am looking forward to getting into the car in the afternoon," Verstappen added.

With Sergio Perez taking the helm of the Red Bull RB20 for the second day of the testing, it would be fascinating to see if the 1.2-second advantage that the team had over its rivals was a reality or an anomaly.

The Mexican would have to share duties with Verstappen on Day 2 and would have only the morning session to get familiar with the car before having the entire final day of testing on Friday, February 23, to his name.