The defending world champions Red Bull Racing has unveiled their 2023 livery at a New York launch event.
Red Bull opted to hold its season launch in the Big Apple in front of its American title sponsor Oracle, revealing a look similar to its previous colour schemes on a show car.
Oracle continues to occupy the prime sponsor slots on the car. Its actual 2023 challenger, the RB19, is still kept tightly under wraps.
The Red Bull launch was accompanied by the news that Ford will return to Formula 1 as the team’s engine partner from the 2026 season onwards.
The Blue Oval returns after a 22-year hiatus when it last badged the Cosworth engines used by the Jaguar Racing team.
Red Bull is already far down the line with its own engine design for the new 2026 power unit regulations at its Red Bull Powertrains division, but had been open to an OEM partnership after the collapse of a potential deal with Porsche.
Until then the Milton Keynes outfit will continue to work with Honda, which has an increased presence on the car just 15 months after officially withdrawing from Formula 1.
Drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are aiming to replicate Red Bull’s unprecedented 2022 season in which it finally broke Mercedes’s eight-year streak to win the constructors’ championship, its first teams’ title since 2013.
Verstappen wrapped up his second drivers’ world title in Japan, with four rounds to go, as Perez lost out to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by three points in the battle for second position.
The Red Bull driver also set an all-time record with his haul of 15 Grand Prix wins in a single season, breaking a record previously shared by Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher.
For 2023, Red Bull is expecting fierce competition from both Ferrari and a resurgent Mercedes.
Its challenge is hampered by a ten percent reduction in wind tunnel time as part of its punishment for breaching 2021’s cost cap.
That reduction is compounded by Red Bull having the smallest wind tunnel allotment out of all teams as part of Formula 1’s Aerodynamic Testing Restrictions, a success penalty for being the reigning world champion.
Red Bull official website and social media:
https://twitter.com/redbullracing/status/1621521390473199616?cxt=HHwWgIDSraHH5oAtAAAA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18AVs8gAS4A
https://www.redbullracing.com/int-en
News stories:
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/ford-will-power-red-bull-and-alphatauri-from-f1-2026/10427698/
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/red-bull-to-use-fan-designed-f1-livery-for-three-us-races-in-2023/10427717/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/64509697
https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12475/12800634/red-bull-launch-new-2023-car-for-formula-1-title-defence-and-confirm-ford-engine-partnership-from-2026
News stories on the Red Bull launch and the partnership with Ford:
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.first-look-red-bull-reveal-2023-rb19-during-spectacular-new-york-launch.4iN7zpmadjkx9wDqvONMWR.html
https://the-race.com/formula-1/red-bull-ford-f1-deal-announced-this-is-what-it-means/
https://the-race.com/formula-1/ford-officially-announces-2026-f1-return/
https://www.racefans.net/2023/02/03/fia-confirms-ford-and-honda-among-six-engine-manufacturers-signed-up-for-2026/
https://www.racefans.net/2023/02/03/official-ford-returning-to-formula-1-with-red-bull-in-2026/
Ford announce new technical partnership with Red Bull for 2026 and beyond. Article provided by Formula1.com.
Fresh from confirmation of their upcoming return to F1, Ford have revealed that they are doing so through a “long-term strategic technical partnership” with Red Bull Powertrains, ahead of the sport’s new engine regulations coming into play.
Earlier on Friday, Ford set out plans to add a fresh chapter to their trophy-laden F1 story, having powered 10 constructors’ championships and 13 drivers’ championships over the years – from Lotus and Graham Hill back in 1968 to Benetton and Michael Schumacher in 1994.
Starting in 2023, Ford and Red Bull Powertrains – the Milton Keynes team’s dedicated engine division – will develop a next-gen power unit to supply both Red Bull Racing and the sister AlphaTauri operation from 2026 until at least 2030.
Based around the current turbocharged 1.6-litre power unit, F1’s future engine regulations will feature increased electrical power and 100% sustainable fuels, while also improving safety and lowering costs for manufacturers.
A giant of both the motorsport world and the automotive industry, Ford are set to provide expertise in several areas of development “including battery cell and electric motor technology as well as power unit control software and analytics”.
“This is the start of a thrilling new chapter in Ford’s motorsports story that began when my great-grandfather [Henry Ford] won a race that helped launch our company,” said Bill Ford, Executive Chairman, Ford Motor Company.
“Ford, alongside world champions, Oracle Red Bull Racing, is returning to the pinnacle of the sport, bringing Ford’s long tradition of innovation, sustainability and electrification to one of the world’s most visible stages.”
Jim Farley, President and CEO, Ford Motor Company, commented: “Ford’s return to Formula 1 with Red Bull Racing is all about where we are going as a company – increasingly electric, software-defined, modern vehicles and experiences.
“F1 will be an incredibly cost-effective platform to innovate, share ideas and technologies, and engage with tens of millions of new customers.”
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner added: “It’s fantastic to be welcoming Ford back into Formula 1 through this partnership. As an independent engine manufacturer to have the ability to benefit from an OEM’s experience like Ford puts us in good stead against the competition.
“They are a manufacturer rich in motoring history that spans generations. From Jim Clark to Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, the lineage speaks for itself. For us as Red Bull Powertrains to open the next chapter of that dynasty, as Red Bull Ford, is tremendously exciting.
“2026 is still a while a way but for us the work already starts as we look to a new future and a continued evolution of Oracle Red Bull Racing.”
Farley stressed that Ford will be “competing to win” in F1, with new partner Red Bull entering the 2023 campaign looking to build on claiming both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships last year.