Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, Silverstone, 2018

Red Bull explains one-off launch livery for RB14

2018 F1 season

Posted on

| Written by

Red Bull has explained the decision to launch its RB14 in a one-off ‘special edition’ launch livery.

Team principal Christian Horner said it had brought its launch plans forwards compared to what it had done in previous seasons.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 2018
Verstappen in Red Bull’s 2018 driver kit
“Knowing we were running all of our development and processes earlier to meet this early launch, we felt that ‘shift’ had to be reflected in the livery,” said Horner, “hence the ‘digital disruption’ you saw on the RB14 at Silverstone.”

“It was good to have got the first few laps of 2018 under our belts and now we look forward to the first test in Barcelona next week.”

Max Verstappen was present at Silverstone while team mate Daniel Ricciardo shook down the new chassis in wet conditions.

“I think the car looks very aggressive and, actually, the livery I really, really like,” said Verstappen. “It’s always better to drive the car of course, and I can’t wait to drive the RB14 in Barcelona. I’m really looking forward to it and hopefully it will be dry.”

Red Bull has revealed its driver overalls for the upcoming season which remain very similar to those seen last year.

2018 F1 season

Browse all 2018 F1 season articles

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, Silverstone, 2018
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, Silverstone, 2018

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

13 comments on “Red Bull explains one-off launch livery for RB14”

  1. So we’ll likely see an unchanged livery based on the driver overalls. That’s fine in my book. I think it’s one of the best looking designs on the grid and is synonymous with the success Red Bull have had over the years.

    The testing livery is a bit of fun and gets people talking… but it’s what’s underneath it that counts. Fingers crossed for a competitive year – Ricciardo and Verstappen are too chummy considering how good they both are!

    1. @ben-n
      I agree about the livery, people might complain that it never changes but 15 – 20 years down the line it will be considered a classic. I just wish they wouldn’t take up half of their drivers’ helmet design.

  2. Just say you wanted to camouflage the aero, no shame in that

  3. So they hit or exceeded their shakedown target – good. All the other jibber jabber about a “digital disruption” livery is just blather, IMHO. Well, there’s no such thing as bad news, so Horner’s at it.

    1. @phylyp, the only “digital disruption” that is going on around Red Bull’s car seems to relate to some of their press photographs – some have spotted that they appear to have been editing out part of the side impact crash structures from the head on position (seemingly in an attempt to disguise that there appears to be some sort of slot in it).

  4. It was a special livery designed to not show the scratches in the paint after the Ricciardo crash. Smart.

  5. “We had some spare cash and the design guy was bored.”

  6. oh god, Horner’s gone all “Ronspeak” on us

    1. @guitargraham probably a result of being asked a million stupid questions about it. His half a million normal quotes about it don’t get the headline, so the journalists keep asking.

  7. yes that Red Bull Aston Martin Tag Heuer Renault is a very cool car.
    Rag Tag for short?

  8. Keep the new livery, if not now then re-introduce it for some races later in the season.

  9. To quote Autosport: ” Ricciardo crashed new RB14 on filming day! ” I’ve seen this front suspension design approach before and it gives the driver very little feedback on slippery track conditions. I hope I’m wrong but this car is a failure considering front suspension design. RB14 is probably perfected on aero side but the crash on low speed testifies mechanical issues. I don’t think the accident is all to Danny.

    1. …or it’s the 1st time out in a new car on a wet track

Comments are closed.