Red Bull give nothing away: RB18 looks suspiciously like F1 show model

Red Bull Racing has unveiled the new RB18 for the 2022 Formula One season. Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez and Christian Horner were very positive about the new car, but frankly Red Bull gave little away.

F1 2022

For the 2022 Formula 1 season the aerodynamic regulations will be completely changed and so the teams will have to design a completely new car. This will take a lot of time and every minute that can be used in the computer programs or wind tunnel will be used optimally.

This means that teams will not show their real car during the famous car presentations. We are used to car presentations being more of a show than a real unveiling, but this year it's bigger than usual. Where in the past you could still notice a difference in design, now the teams do not even bother.

For those who had read Helmut Marko's interview earlier this week, the presentation did not even come as a surprise. The Austrian revealed that the presentation was mainly meant for fans and sponsors, but that the real RB18 was far from finished. As in the past Red Bull opts for an approach where the car is finished as late as possible.

Red Bull gives nothing away

If you then look at Red Bull's presentation, Marko indeed did not lie. The whole show was a good way for Red Bull to announce the new sponsorship deal, put fans in the spotlight and reveal the new livery. Mind you, it's all about the livery. As it happens, we didn't see the real car.

Formula 1 made its own show model 2022 car, to give fans a certain idea of what the cars will look like. Each team already indicated that there will be many differences in interpretation and that no car will look exactly like the show model.

However, if you look at the photos made available by Red Bull and you put them next to the Formula 1 show model, you come to the conclusion that they are virtually identical. So Red Bull has taken the show model and put their own lick of paint on it to present the livery.

It's remarkable though, because the show model that was presented by F1 now doesn't even pass the inspection of the current rules. So the car that Red Bull has now presented as RB18 cannot even run a race.

So, as with Haas, no analysis can be made of the car and the prediction is that the same will be true for the other teams. At this stage, it is mainly about a show for fans and sponsors where the livery gets the attention, but teams don't give anything away of the new car.