Christian Horner makes admission about RB-19 as trickery continues

Red Bull’s ‘Season Launch’ took place in New York on Friday.

While most teams have a car launch event before the start of the season, Red Bull have been slightly different and done a season launch.

This means that while the RB-19 was shown off to the world for the first time, the livery was the only thing that is 100 percent accurate about the car.

To the eye, the RB-19 looks very similar to last season’s car, with Red Bull keeping their livery very similar to what it has been ever since they entered Formula 1.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has now explained that the RB-19 that leaves the garage for pre-season testing in Bahrain will look slightly different to the one shown off in the USA.

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“I think that the car that we have shown today, obviously, will be somewhat different to when you see it in Bahrain,” he said.

“Today was about launching the team’s aspirations for the year ahead, the partners that we have and, of course, the exciting announcement with the Ford partnership.

“To do it here in the US, in this market is the first time ever, obviously, for Red Bull Racing. What you’ve seen today isn’t obviously a total reflection of what will hit the track in Bahrain in a couple of weeks’ time.”

The most exciting thing to come out of Red Bull’s season launch was the announcement that they will be partnering with Ford ahead of the 2026 season.

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After over a decade away from the sport, the car manufacturing giants will return to Formula 1 to collaborate with Red Bull Powertrains, who are technically a new entrant in 2026 when the engine regulations change.

Last year’s pre-season testing saw some radical designs on show, with the sidepods in particular being an area of the car which was experimented with a lot.

With every team having had a year to work out what works best under the new regulations, it is likely that most of the cars this season will look relatively similar, with the likes of Mercedes learning from last season’s mistakes.