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Red Bull started off F1’s “launch week” by unveiling their 2022 challenger, the RB18 in an online-only event yesterday. But for fans expecting something new from the team, the event was a disappointment.
The team showed off what appeared to be an F1 demo car with essentially the same livery from last season. They updated the car to include their new title sponsor Oracle, which replaces the gaps left by Honda’s “departure” at the end of the last season.
Predictably, F1 fans took to social media to express their disappointment, flooding Twitter with memes of Milton Keynes recycling their livery each new season. Some have criticized the team for using the same variation of the livery that has remained on their cars since 2015. Many expected more courtesy of their world championship win last season.
Others have pointed out that the team’s special Honda tribute livery from last year’s Turkish Grand Prix was “far better” compared to their 2022 colors. Even the official Twitter account of rivals Mercedes couldn’t resist the opportunity, with the handle tweeting a popular meme from the show Drake and Josh.
The Austrian team’s lackluster launch event could be deliberate considering previous reports of F1 asking teams to launch their cars with “provisional liveries”. Teams have reportedly only been asked to unveil their proper liveries during the first televised pre-season test in Bahrain later next month.
Considering Christian Horner’s admission during the event that their car will “probably look very different” by time the first race weekend arrives, fans could potentially expect to see proper livery in Bahrain.
Red Bull signs a new lucrative title sponsorship deal
Red Bull has a signed a new sponsorship deal worth nearly $500 million with American technology company Oracle for the role of title sponsor.
The team has officially changed its 2022 F1 entry to “Oracle Red Bull Racing” from “Red Bull Racing Honda” that was used last year. With the team revealing very little in terms of the actual car, the launch event was likely a marketing promo for their new title sponsor.
Speaking in an interview with AP, team principal Christian Horner said:
“We’re all about speed and the speed of response. We’re pushing the Oracle technical guys. But they’re responding in the best possible way. And that’s what makes this partnership very exciting.”
In addition to being a sponsor, Oracle will reportedly collaborate with Milton Keynes to take up a similar role that Amazon Web Services has with F1. The company will reportedly help the team improve their racing strategies, while also assisting them on the power unit side until 2025.
