Paul Jeffrey
Premium
The next new 2019 Formula One car is here, albeit in a special livery - the 2019 Red Bull Honda RB15!
The first car from Red Bull off the production line that will be powered by Honda in Formula One, the new Red Bull RB15 broke cover earlier today at Silverstone, sporting a nifty special livery in celebration of the new car launch.
Set to be driven by Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly following the departure of Daniel Ricciardo to Renault, the RB15 is a car that Red Bull hope to challenge for race victories with by the end of the season - potentially quite a task if the recent form of Honda in Grand Prix racing is anything to go by...
As well as revealing the car to the public for the first time, Red Bull took advantage of the 2019 filming day rules to hit the Silverstone circuit this morning, putting the first laps on the new machine prior to beginning pre-season testing at Barcelona later this month.
“I was really excited to jump in the car and as soon as we got going it felt pretty normal. It felt good and we had no problems, so very happy with that,” said new team leader Max Verstappen. “Also, the livery is very beautiful, even though it’s only for today.
“Of course today is a filming day, so there’s a limited amount you can get out of it, but it’s really important to have a day like this, before you go to the official tests,” he added. “You get a first impression and you see if there any little issues with the car or engine. Luckily we didn’t have any and it’s very positive that we had this opportunity. Now we can go testing properly, we’ll see what we can get out of that and we’ll be able to understand the car and the engine a bit better. But so far, so good.”
Christian Horner, Red Bull Team Principle, was equally pleased with the first outing of the new car and engine combination at Silverstone:
“It’s always great to see a new car take its first run,” he said. “RB15 is our first car with a Honda power unit and it looks resplendent in its one-off livery here at Silverstone. Of course today is all about filming, but it’s also a really valuable opportunity to check that all the systems work and that the car is fundamentally in good shape before we head to Barcelona next week where hopefully it will be a bit warmer! Now we’ve got eight days’ of testing ahead and it’s important that we maximise track time and get as much out of that process as possible prior to the first race of the new season in Melbourne.”
Although rather striking in the blue and red livery, Red Bull have confirmed that a more traditional colour scheme will be applied for both testing and the season proper, which in a year when many of the teams have avoided straying dramatically from last seasons designs, is something of a shame...
To check out when the next cars are set to be revealed, and how to watch it all unfold live, check out THIS LINK.
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For more from the world of Formula One, head over to the RaceDepartment Formula One sub forum and join in with fellow fans of the top level of open wheel motorsport.
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