FANS SIMPLY DELIGHTED
Teaser of new Red Bull car an immediate hit
RED Bull have released the first pictures of their 2018 race car as they look to drive to their way to the title this season. The Aston Martin-Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer RB14 car got its first test drive on Monday as Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo takes to the track at Silverstone on Monday.
But while fans took to social media to express their delight at the striking blue camouflage aesthetics of the car, Red Bull confirmed the season’s race paint is yet to be revealed.
That will become much clearer at the team’s Barcelona testing site, Circuit de Catalunya, next week.
It is not the first time Red Bull have adopted to tease fans with their designs — back in 2015 the RB11 car was launched with a black and white ‘camobull’ paint job.
The RB14 has a number of distinct physical differences to previous seasons with the introduction of the Halo cockpit protection device.
The controversial addition has been routinely mocked in some quarters but it appears it is here to stay as Red Bull opt for a subtle black variation.
“Installing the Halo has been a challenge – mostly in terms of building a chassis strong enough to accommodate it and pass a brutal homologation test – but the rest of the regs have been comparatively stable,” Red Bull said in a statement.
Other modifications outlined by the constructor are the new exclusion zones on the rear of the car that ‘effectively remove shark fins, monkey seats and T-wings’.
The RB14 will be powered by a Renault V6 turbo hybrid, which will remain branded as TAG Heuer for a third straight season.
It is likely to be the last Red Bull F1 car carrying a Renault engine, as the French manufacturer is set to pull out of its long-time engine supply deal with the Austrian outfit at the end of the year.
Red Bull are the third constructor to release their car for the 2018 season after Haas and Williams but this is the first which fans believe can realistically challenge for the title.
And while this is an early release date by some teams’ standards, a Red Bull statement suggested it was all part of the process.
“It’s preferable to finish the car early and deal with any snags now, when the car is on a track a short drive from the factory, rather than using up one of our eight ultra-precious test days doing the same at the Circuit de Catalunya,” Red Bull said.
“We’ll be filming at Silverstone and the footage will give fans an early-season fix across our channels before testing proper begins next week.”
Meanwhile, former McLaren head of aerodynamics Doug McKiernan has joined the Williams Formula One team as chief engineer in a move that will see him working with technical head Paddy Lowe again.
McKiernan left McLaren in 2015, after a period of ‘gardening leave’, before that team began a failed partnership with Honda and two years after Lowe departed for current champions Mercedes.
“Having worked with Doug closely between 2007 and 2012, I am sure that his talent and experience will significantly strengthen our team and we are delighted that he is joining us,” said Lowe.
“Since returning to Williams last year, it has become clear that in order to help move the team forward we need greater engineering resources.”
Williams finished fifth of 10 teams last year. The new season starts in Australia on March 25.