Red Bull Racing has unveiled their new glossy livery with the RB22. This will be the first Formula 1 racing car fitted with in-house power units in partnership with Ford.
The team hosted a special launch in Detroit, at the home of its new power unit partner, by revealing a show car featuring a refreshed colour scheme after years of very similar liveries.
The 2026 look for the RB22 features a “heritage white base” that the team said will “provide more depth and clarity and allow the iconic sun and bull logo to pop”.
The RB22, which will be driven by four-time world champion Max Verstappen and his new teammate Isack Hadjar, who has been promoted from the sister team Racing Bulls.
The black and blue livery has been tweaked with a lighter shade of blue applied in a so-called jacquard pattern, while also returning to a glossy finish after years of running the matte finish.
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 twenty 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.”
The new glossy look certainly looks beautiful. Very similar style to the Sebastian Vettel’s cars from the past. Hopefully the new partnership with Ford will be competitive this season.
Social media:
https://x.com/redbullracing/status/2012008822957883781
https://x.com/redbullracing/status/2012020546159198293
https://www.youtube.com/live/_f4XK16uGZo?si=LpITD4EuMKyyvTlr
Official website:
https://www.redbullracing.com/int-en/galleries/the-new-2026-livery-takes-centre-stage-in-detroit
https://www.redbullracing.com/int-en/races/season-launch-2026
News stories:
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/first-look-red-bull-unveil-striking-new-livery-for-2026-f1-season.61MNwo6zMoxUtOAjS8JH0S
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/red-bull-on-noise-over-f1-engine-trick-confident-its-legal/10790337/
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/galleries/red-bull-racing-livery-in-photos/11167/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/c62v60d71gxo
https://www.racefans.net/2026/01/16/red-bull-presents-new-liveries-for-both-its-f1-teams-as-ford-returns-to-the-grid/
https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/13494642/red-bull-rb22-throwback-blue-livery-for-max-verstappen-to-drive-in-2026-f1-season-revealed-at-launch-event-in-detroit
https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/13494646/red-bull-chief-laurent-mekies-admits-he-expects-team-to-be-trailing-rivals-at-start-of-2026-f1-season-amid-new-engine-adjustment
https://www.skysports.com/f1/video/12040/13494846/formula-one-laurent-mekies-believes-red-bull-will-be-trailing-at-the-start-of-the-2026-season
Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies conceded during the team’s launch event that he is anticipating some “struggles, headaches and sleepless nights” amid the challenge of the squad manufacturing their own power units for the first time in 2026.
Weeks before testing gets underway for the upcoming season – one in which new technical regulations will be introduced into the sport – Red Bull joined forces with sister outfit Racing Bulls to reveal their liveries for the new campaign during a special event held in Detroit.
The city was chosen as a host location given that it is known as the United States home of Ford, with whom Red Bull have partnered on Red Bull Ford Powertrains ahead of the maiden campaign in which they will supply both teams’ engines.
Reflecting on the challenge that this project poses – particularly coupled with the new rules coming into effect – Mekies explained at the event: “We are entering a striking moment for Formula 1. It’s going to be the biggest change of regulations in Formula 1 history.
“But that was not enough – it’s also the moment where we decided to do our own power unit, with the incredible support from our strategy partner Ford, with us from the very early days.
“It’s a crazy challenge – perhaps it’s a challenge that only a company like Red Bull and Ford can decide to do, but that’s what we are here for. It’s going to be a year full of challenges, but it’s fundamentally what brings us together.”
When asked what success would look like in Red Bull Ford Powertrains’ first year as a supplier, Mekies acknowledged that there are likely to be some tough moments ahead initially – but voiced his belief that they will “eventually come out on top”.
“After everything we’ve said on the size of the challenge, of starting from scratch and building everything up, I think going into the first year and going to the first race and thinking to be straight away at the level of the competition – who have been doing it for years – would be naïve,” the Team Principal said.
“We are not naïve. We know it’s going to be a fair amount of struggles, a fair amount of headaches and sleepless nights, but that’s exactly what we are here for. We have the confidence of having put together an amazing group of people, an amazing group of partners, and we will go through the struggles.
“We will eventually come out on top. Bear with us in the first few months, and I think these initial difficulties will be a good reminder of how much we went through to eventually get on top.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/bear-with-us-in-the-first-months-mekies-expecting-struggles-amid-challenge.6M3NWHmS1Wamy76dcM6sOD