[Gallery] Red Bull launches 2022 RB18 F1 car | GRR
Red Bull has given us our first official look at its 2022 RB18 Formula 1 World Championship contender… sort of. While the livery is representative of what we’ll be seeing glazed across defending champion Max Verstappen’s car this season – complete with the number 1 on its very yellow nose – the car seen here is some way away from the machine the team will be campaigning.
As many experts have already pointed out, this is effectively one of the F1 demonstrator cars with the new livery draped over the top. Aspects of the front end conform to an out-of-date regulation iteration and, as with the Haas, there’s no obvious DRS actuator.
We will likely first see what the Red Bull really looks like – and indeed competitors, if they play their cards close to their chest – once pre-season testing begins at the end of this month.
What’s very different is the team itself, for this year. Oracle is upgraded to title sponsor, with the official team name now being Oracle Red Bull Racing.
That also spells the departure of Honda as the title powertrain partner, with Red Bull having taken development in-house with the acquisition of Honda’s assets and the subsequent creation of Red Bull Powertrains. Although Honda will continue to manufacture Red Bull’s engines until the next regulation change, expected around 2026.
So in short, again, it’s all still to play for. We have a livery and the fact it’s on an out of date buck perhaps suggests Red Bull has a golden ticket it’s not too keen to show off a month before we get underway. What are your thoughts on this reveal that wasn’t a reveal? Let us know…