Red Bull 2026 F1 livery unveiled as chief gives Verstappen title hope | F1 | Sport
Red Bull believe they can keep Max Verstappen in the title fight this year – with their first ever engine and a glossy new car reminiscent of the team’s Formula 1 debut. The Milton Keynes-based squad pulled the covers off their new car, the RB22, in Detroit overnight to reveal their first major livery changes in years.
Gone is the dark navy, matte finish of recent seasons, replaced by a brighter, glossier blue base. Red Bull say the livery is a nod to their “original look”, when they first entered F1 back in 2005. But there are also signs of a new era, with the logo of new engine partner Ford featuring prominently.
As does Verstappen’s new number three, used with permission of its former owner Daniel Ricciardo, the Dutchman having lost the right to use number one to Lando Norris. The RB22 might prove to be Verstappen’s last Red Bull car, given the clause in his contract which could let him leave for free if performance expectations are not met.
And the fact his agent has made it clear that all options will be considered if Red Bull aren’t up to speed in F1’s new era. But having spent four years developing Red Bull’s first in-house engine, powertrain technical director Ben Hodgkinson is optimistic that they can deliver.
He said: “I’ve been doing this for 27 years, so everything I do has got to be backed up by the belief I can do it. I don’t think you belong in this industry if you don’t believe that. [Giving Verstappen a fast car] is clearly the target. But I think that, if you show me a confident engineer, I’ll show you one that’s about to lose.
“You can never underestimate where everybody is, you always have to assume you’re behind so that you always push the absolute maximum. It’s going to be an interesting season. I’m very confident that the team I’ve built is incredible, I’m confident the facilities we put together are going to be benchmark.
“But we’re a newcomer – we had to build factories while people started developing engines. We started behind, but I think the people and the facilities we’ve got are better than everybody else. So watch this space. Will we overtake them by race one? I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see.”
F1’s new engines rely on far more electrical power than previously was the case, and managing different modes while racing at 200mph will be an additional challenge for drivers. Verstappen has shown particular aptitude for multi-tasking behind the wheel, and Hodgkinson believes he and new team-mate Isack Hadjar could have an edge over their rivals.
He said: “It’s going to be a bit more for them to manage. I think the drivers that have got the most cognitive bandwidth whilst they’re driving a car are the ones that are going to really stand out. I think that puts us in a really good position with the drivers that we have.”
