They say that the more time it takes for a car to reach the track, the more ‘false’ the presentation model is. Red Bull showed before anyone else, Don’t let Haas get angry, his interpretation of the new regulation through the RB18 which will be driven by the champion, Max Verstappen. And since rushing is not good company, nor are free tracks for rivals useless, what happened this Wednesday is not a surprise: the ‘new’ RB18 is practically a carbon copy of the model that F1 presented in July 2021 in the colors of the Milton Keynes team.
The decoration is reliable, also the designation of Oracle as ‘title sponsor’ and the absence of Honda, for the time being, among the advertisers that appear. Everything else, a lure for the rest of the teams don’t take advantage of the ideas of Adrian Newey and company. Let no one be fooled, the rest of the factories will teach the same: little or nothing. There are hardly any details of its own in the front suspension, or the diffuser, after several minutes of analysis. Nor do the photographs with a darkened background help to complicate the work of the engineering teams whose mission, from now on, is to unravel each curve of the project.
“A Blank Sheet”
“The car is cleaner. I hope it helps overtaking, it’s a new concept and a new philosophy. A blank sheet of paper. I don’t remember a year as even as 2021 and the challenge is, now that we have the number one on the car. , defend it and keep it under new regulations. We are on the crest of the wave, “describes Christian Horner, team boss, well aware that the new aerodynamic rules are joined by a budget ceiling that will force improvements to be contained. “Basically everything is changes, the philosophy is completely different, each component is new. The development curve is steep, so there will be a race of developments throughout the season,” said the Briton in the presentation video, pre-recorded and broadcast through official channels, but without press conferences. In England The outcome of the World Cup is still in progress and the premiere of the car could not become a carousel of questions about Lewis Hamilton, his anger or his return.
Verstappen, 24, will wear the number one instead of his traditional ’33’ because it “fits better”. The Dutchman doesn’t hide his desire to get in the car now: “There are a lot of question marks around the cars, that’s why it’s important that you prepare yourself in the best possible way, physically. With the new rules, you have to get used to the car, it’s not a question to be uploaded as an evolution of last year. That will be the biggest change. I want to know the car, I don’t know how it will feel. I am looking forward to that first moment”. At his side, Checo Pérez, a brand new squire with aspirations of something more in 2022. The Mexican is confident that the new regulations will provide “good races”. “These rules are made to improve the competition, I hope that the pilots can do it on the track”, he stressed. It will be released on February 23 in Barcelona, ​​in the tests, unless they celebrate the classic ‘shakedown’ before.