Gearbox problems hampers RB5’s first day on track

New Red Bull RB5

Sebastian Vettel had the honor on Monday to start Red Bull Racing's 2009 program. After presenting the team's RB5 to the media at Jerez the team started its first day of testing. The day soon came to an end though when the RB5 suffered from a gearbox problem.

Christian Horner commented on the team’s first test with the new car: "Following a successful shakedown, we stopped the car as a precautionary measure because the gearbox oil temperature was beginning to rise. We ran with our KERS system fitted to the car, but it was not operational. We simply carried it to assess its impact on other elements of the package, such as weight distribution, and to study the effects on the system of vibrations and other forces."

Sebastian Vettel said: "The guys did a fantastic job to get the car here and ready for this first run. I was happy to be driving again, but don't ask me to comment on the feel of the car as it's far too early for that. With the shakedown out of the way, we can get down to developing the car starting tomorrow and over the next few days. Stopping early today was the right decision, as you really need to understand exactly what causes any problem on a brand new car."