Red Bull reveals refreshed 2026 F1 livery at Detroit launch
by Filip Cleeren · AutosportRed Bull takes the covers off the first livery of its Ford era as the 2026 Formula 1 season nears
Red Bull Racing has unveiled the new livery for its 2026 RB22, its first Formula 1 car fitted with in-house power units in partnership with Ford.
Red Bull hosted a launch in Detroit, at the home of its new power unit partner, and revealed a show car featuring a refreshed colour scheme after years of very similar liveries.
The RB22, which will be driven by four-time world champion Max Verstappen and his new team-mate Isack Hadjar, will receive a blue and black colour scheme, with a lighter shade of blue applied in a so-called jacquard pattern, while also returning to a glossy finish after years of opting for matte.
True to its brazen style, Red Bull turned to its pilot Martin Sonka to assist with the reveal, with Sonka tearing the cover off the car from his stunt plane.
Following the conclusion of its partnership with Honda, which ended up moving to Aston Martin, Red Bull has been building its first-ever in-house power units at Red Bull Powertrains, the biggest technical challenge the team has taken on in its 20-year history.
"I loved the idea of it being a blank sheet of paper, not just the power unit but the whole company, so we could custom build it to what we knew the regulations were going to be, which was a pretty cool opportunity," said Red Bull Powertrains chief Ben Hodgkinson.
"The gravity of what that meant took a while to really sink in and trying to find what's turned into 700 people in a short space of time has been really challenging.
"If you create a really bold and audacious project it only really attracts bold and audacious people, so those people fit the Red Bull culture absolutely like a glove. It's brilliant for the rate of innovation, so it's been an exciting, pretty intense four years."
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- The Autosport.com Team