It appears that Red Bull followed in Haas’ footsteps by only revealing their 2023 livery last Friday, where the side showed the world how they’ll be looking in the forthcoming season, not what they’ll be using.
The team used their 2022 challenger to reveal their new livery, with the team’s newest car not set to be officially seen until pre-season testing in Bahrain.
Given how successful the RB18 was, it’s easy to understand why the side wanted to show it off one last time, with Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez having claimed 17 wins between them last season.
To no surprise, the Austrians went on to claim their first Constructors’ Championship last season since 2013, with the hope being that the RB19 will replicate what the RB18 was capable of this season.
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According to RacingNews365.com, the RB19 is going to look a little different to last season’s car, with it set to boast a different steering wheel, steering column and wheel rims, whilst the shape itself will look similar to the RB18.
The team will be hoping that the RB19 is capable of race victories from the get-go, given that team principal Christian Horner is expecting Mercedes and Ferrari to have “made progress”.
Red Bull also go into the new season with the remainder of their budget cap penalty to serve, with the Austrians still having nine months remaining on their 12-month reduction in permitted aerodynamic research.
Horner isn’t sure yet what the “full impact” will be of the side’s ‘minor’ breach of the 2021 budget cap, with pre-season testing and then the first round of the season set to give Red Bull a rough understanding of how impacted they’ll be.
“I think it’s going to be much more competitive this year,” Horner told the Daily Mail.
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“I think Ferrari and Mercedes will have, for sure, made progress, and I think we don’t actually know the full impact that the [cost cap] handicap will have on us yet.”
Many have predicted that Red Bull will feel the full brunt of their penalty mid-season, when sides usually introduce big aero packages.
With Red Bull having a 10-percent reduction in wind tunnel time, it’s predicted that the Milton Keynes-based side won’t be able to introduce as big an aero upgrade as usual, something which could see them fall behind their rivals.