LONDON • Mexican Sergio Perez sounded upbeat after driving his first laps in Red Bull's new Formula One car at a chilly Silverstone on Wednesday.

At the end of last season, the 31-year-old joined from Racing Point, who have been rebranded as Aston Martin, to partner Dutch driver Max Verstappen at last year's constructors' runners-up.

Perez replaced British-Thai driver Alexander Albon, who was dropped by Red Bull after an underwhelming first full campaign, and there are hopes that with "Checo", who won the Sakhir Grand Prix, the team can put up a better challenge to Mercedes, winners of the past seven constructors' championships.

"Driving a new car is always special, for the driver and also for the team.

"They have been working so hard through the winter, so to finally take the car on track, it's quite an emotional day," he said in a team statement.

"I can say I think there is a lot of potential. The conditions were not great but it was nice to get a feeling for the car. It's pretty exciting."

Perez drove last year's RB15 car on Tuesday - and said seeing his name on a title-contending car was "a dream come true", while he was also first behind the wheel of the RB16B.

Verstappen also drove last year's car for a few laps on Wednesday before switching to the new car in the afternoon for what was essentially a filming day.

"Days like today are all about getting comfortable with the car and with the new power unit, trying to make things run smoothly and trying to be well prepared before we go testing in Bahrain," said the 23-year-old Dutchman, who won two races last year.

Albon will be in the shadows this season as a reserve driver, but Red Bull team principal Christian Horner insisted the 24-year-old, who admitted he was dejected by his demotion, still has a big part to play.

"It's important for Alex to stay sharp as he's going to play a crucial role in the development of RB16B," he said.

The only pre-season test session is at Bahrain's Sakhir circuit from March 12 to 14, with the season-opener to take place in the Gulf kingdom on March 28.

REUTERS