Red Bull Racing RB19

[6] During preseason testing in Sakhir at the Bahrain International Circuit, the car was immediately proven to be an improvement over its predecessor, the RB18, which was already dominant over its competitors.

[9] Despite encountering balance issues during free practice, the RB19 confirmed its pace at the opening round in Bahrain by comfortably locking out the front row with Verstappen on pole position and Pérez alongside him in second.

[13] Red Bull looked set to dominate in Saudi Arabia, with Verstappen and Pérez taking turns topping the timings in the three practice sessions allocated.

[14] However, during Q2, Verstappen encountered a driveshaft issue on his first flying lap, forcing him to abandon the rest of the session, and as a result, he wound up only fifteenth on the starting grid.

[18] This was not without controversy, as Red Bull instructed both drivers via team radio to drive to a lap time delta of 1:33.0 during the closing stages.

[19] The RB19 did not appear to handle anywhere near as smoothly in Australia, particularly in the hands of Sergio Pérez, who endured a torrid third practice session, ending up in the gravel traps frequently, suspecting brake issues on his car.

Pérez gradually climbed up the order until on lap 7 Alexander Albon crashed his Williams at turn 7, bringing out a safety car, which led Russell to pit for hard tyres, while Verstappen and Hamilton stayed out.

After the restart, Pérez once again made progress up the order, climbing up to seventh by lap 53 before Kevin Magnussen crashed into the wall at turn 2, bringing out another red flag.

Verstappen crossed the line to win in Australia, while Pérez benefitted from Gasly's retirement and Sainz's penalty at the second restart to take fifth.

[25] Over the four-week break before the next race in Azerbaijan, Red Bull designed an upgrade package for the RB19, with modifications centring around the car's sidepods; the shape of the inlet and the underbite was altered to improve airflow to the ancillaries, coolers and radiators.

Pérez remained in the lead for the rest of the race to take the win, with Verstappen finishing second to complete the third Red Bull 1-2 of the season.

[35] The Monaco Grand Prix marked differing fortunes for the RB19's drivers; while Verstappen topped all but the first practice session and just barely took pole position ahead of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon, Pérez' qualifying was brought to a halt after crashing out of the opening St.

Starting from last on the grid, Pérez was only able to make up only four positions (including the retirements of Lance Stroll and Kevin Magnussen) and was further hindered by an accident between him and George Russell as rain started to trickle onto the Circuit de Monaco, and by the end of the race, was two laps down on teammate Verstappen, who won the race comfortably ahead of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon.