Max Verstappen is still waiting for his first look at the car he will drive as he seeks a third consecutive world championship this year.
His Red Bull team principal Christian Horner indicated the team’s real RB19 will appear during pre-season testing in three weeks’ time.
Red Bull presented its new livery for the 2023 F1 season on a machine it referred to as an ‘RB19’, though the team previously indicated it would not present its latest design at its launch event. The car revealed bore a strong similarity to last year’s design and appeared to lack some details required by the latest technical rules, including larger wing mirrors.
Speaking after the event Verstappen admitted he has not laid eyes on the team’s latest creation yet.
“To be honest I haven’t seen it,” he told media including RaceFans. “I’ve only spoken about the performance upgrades in terms of lap time of the car.
“I haven’t seen any pictures or renderings because I’m not interested in these kind of things. I only want the fast car and it doesn’t matter how it looks like to me.”
Last year Red Bull presented a show car at its launch event, which it referred to as the RB18. The team’s actual car did not appear until pre-season testing several weeks later.
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Testing for the new season will begin at the Bahrain International Circuit on February 23rd. Team principal Christian Horner admitted the car they will run at that test will not look the same as the one presented today.
“The car that was shown today obviously will be somewhat different when you see it in Bahrain,” he said. “Today was really about launching the team’s aspirations for the year ahead, the partners that we have and of course the exciting announcement with the Ford partnership. And to do it here in the US, in this market, is the first time obviously ever for Red Bull Racing.
“So what you’ve seen today obviously isn’t a total reflection of what will hit the track in Bahrain in a couple of weeks’ time.”
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