Red Bull passes crash tests in time

Team principal Christian Horner revealed earlier this week that the Milton Keynes-based squad had elected to keep open the design of its new car for as long as possible in a bid to maximise its development time.

Horner said: "It's probably the shortest production and assembly in our previous 10 seasons.

"It is unbelievable what the factory have turned around so far. But still there is plenty to do before Sunday."

As well as the short build time, the decision to lock down the design late meant the crunch crash tests that need to be passed to be allowed to run on track would also be left until the last minute.

Any major problem in the crash test that forced a redesign could leave Red Bull sitting on the sidelines during early testing until modifications were made.

But a team spokesperson confirmed to AUTOSPORT on Saturday that the team had now successfully completed all the tests and had been given the all clear to run at Jerez.