Red Bull RB18 Speculation Thread

[Just_a_fan]

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Tomorrow 5 pm CET.

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16.00 UTC.

Now everyone can make the necessary local time correction from the internationally recognised standard time.

Did you also send a message to the admin of RBR who mentioned 5 pm CET in their announcement,
so that everyone understands what time they mean and they can correct it?

They are PR / marketing people, not members of a technical forum. The person that posted that tweet probably doesn't even know about time zones.

[the EDGE]

I’m amazed just how early a release this is for a team like RB who usually keep their cards very very close to their chest

It wouldn’t surprise me if we see very little of the genuine detail, far less than Haas showed

[Wouter]

I’m amazed just how early a release this is for a team like RB who usually keep their cards very very close to their chest

It wouldn’t surprise me if we see very little of the genuine detail, far less than Haas showed

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https://f1-insider.com/formel-1-red-bul ... 022-41108/

Red Bull doesn't show everything at the presentation [RB18]

Motorsport boss Helmut Marko (78) makes it clear: "The presentation, which is important for fans and sponsors, does not show any special details on the car," says the Grazer to F1 insiders.
Marko continues: “The new car will only be ready shortly before the start of testing in Barcelona on February 23rd. From then on it will be further developed and will receive another update for the first race of the season on March 20th in Bahrain.”

Marko explains the reason with the radical new rules: “The rules stayed the same last year. So we decided to have the car ready very early for the 2021 season. At the time, this decision proved to be the right one. But now it's exactly the other way round: With the new rules, everyone wants to finish as late as possible – also so as not to show everything too early.”

Despite the uncertainty that every extreme rule change entails, Marko is self-confident: “I think we're on the right track and can fight for the title again. As usual, Mercedes should be our main competitor.”

Red Bull team manager Jonathan Wheatley sees Ferrari in particular as a threat. “Their new engine, which they used at the end of last season, proved to be extremely strong. And with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz they have a very good driver pairing that also seems to harmonize well.”

[Tizz]

.
16.00 UTC.

Now everyone can make the necessary local time correction from the internationally recognised standard time.

Did you also send a message to the admin of RBR who mentioned 5 pm CET in their announcement,
so that everyone understands what time they mean and they can correct it?

They are PR / marketing people, not members of a technical forum. The person that posted that tweet probably doesn't even know about time zones.

I still have difficulty to understand the purpose of showing a car that is not going to test, not going to race and probably never will be produced. Not even as a mockup. I have even bigger problems understanding people having any interest in that.

[Mitch2.0]

Tizz, the general public have been swept up by F1, and with social media car launches are now a big thing.

The general public couldn’t tell if it’s a plastic model or a computer rendering, and arguably won’t even tell the difference come Bahrain when they see the real car.

You only have to read the comments on socials to know most people are suckered in by the teams and their pre-season show cars/mock ups.

So actually, they do the job they’re meant to very well - satisfy 90% of the public whilst not giving anything away to rivals.

[Just_a_fan]

Did you also send a message to the admin of RBR who mentioned 5 pm CET in their announcement,
so that everyone understands what time they mean and they can correct it?

They are PR / marketing people, not members of a technical forum. The person that posted that tweet probably doesn't even know about time zones.

I still have difficulty to understand the purpose of showing a car that is not going to test, not going to race and probably never will be produced. Not even as a mockup. I have even bigger problems understanding people having any interest in that.

It's aimed at people that think that being an "influencer" is the pinnacle of aspiration. That and keeping sponsors happy, of course.

Vacuous stuff for vacuous people, basically.

Those with an interest in the sport and its details - rather than the celeb side of it - will have to just wait for spy shots taken through wire mesh fences...

[toraabe]

I expect Perez to be much stronger this year. Not only because of the new rules but also the former cars were made on verstappens preference. This year low rake groundeffect cars could prove the opposite.

[Just_a_fan]

.
16.00 UTC.

Now everyone can make the necessary local time correction from the internationally recognised standard time.

Did you also send a message to the admin of RBR who mentioned 5 pm CET in their announcement,
so that everyone understands what time they mean and they can correct it?

They are PR / marketing people, not members of a technical forum. The person that posted that tweet probably doesn't even know about time zones.

Thinking about it further - I was sat in traffic - the "launch" is happening at the factory. In the UK, which isn't even on CET - it's GMT (which currently matches UTC until BST starts). Further proof that the tweet came from somewhere in Red Bull's central marketing machine rather than the people in the factory.

[F1Krof]

I’m amazed just how early a release this is for a team like RB who usually keep their cards very very close to their chest

It wouldn’t surprise me if we see very little of the genuine detail, far less than Haas showed

Nah, they're playing it smart, they did the same last year. They presented first out of the bunch with a rudimentary car, then follow the other teams where everybody flocks to see what they got and forget all about Red Bull. Kudos to them, great strategy.

[JordanMugen]

So actually, they do the job they’re meant to very well - satisfy 90% of the public whilst not giving anything away to rivals.

Nice cynicism, however actual aerodynamicists have found value in the HAAS renders. They are representative of something, even if it is an earlier stage of development. There hundreds of differences compared to the FOM standard models (which themselves are of value to visualise the rule changes, Scarbs' photos of the second FOM model car have helped me to understand how areas of the car are (broadly) designed and work together which are not otherwise clear, like the splitter).

Of course they are not showing anything which rivals themselves haven't worked out, but for us as fans, we as casual fans hadn't worked out that everyone will (probably) put the sidepod air inlets as far forward as allowed. That's only obvious now thanks to the HAAS renders, for example.

Edit -- The surfacing on these new cars is of course going to be more simple, something more like a 2000's F1 car. But I still find it interesting to look around 2000's F1 cars at auto shows or car museums, even if the bodywork is simplistic (or in the case of 80's & 90's cars, super simplistic) compared to modern F1 cars.

I still have difficulty to understand the purpose of showing a car that is not going to test, not going to race and probably never will be produced. Not even as a mockup. I have even bigger problems understanding people having any interest in that.

Since RB seem that they will be showing a real chassis, it is almost certainly will be a real tub. To build a fake tub would be silly! If they are going to do a shakedown at Silverstone tomorrow, then the launch car probably actually has a power unit and wiring in it too -- all assembled and ready to be loaded in the truck for that matter (if the shakedown is not until weeks later then, sure, perhaps the bodywork is just hollow tomfoolery).

The very same chassis almost certainly will go to Silverstone (probably using the aero bits from the launch, which will be sufficient for a shakedown), it will go to Barcelona and it will probably go to Bahrain too, even if it is the spare car and the later tubs have some refinements. With the cost cap, they can't afford to build unncessarily build 7-8 tubs per season anymore.

[Wouter]

Live in about 2 hours and 50 minutes.

Join us from the Red Bull Racing Technology Campus in Milton Keynes as reigning Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez and Christian Horner reveal our 2022 car to the world in a fan first experience. Introducing the lean, mean #RB18

[JordanMugen]

Live in about 2 hours and 50 minutes.

Official link on Red Bull Racing channel (not sure it matters):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgxplLuex0w

[Wouter]

Live in about 2 hours and 50 minutes.

Official link on Red Bull Racing channel (not sure it matters):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgxplLuex0w

Yes, I just saw it a few minutes ago. I first placed another video, but I corrected it. Thanks anyway @JordanMugen.

[adrianjordan]

Tizz, the general public have been swept up by F1, and with social media car launches are now a big thing.

The general public couldn’t tell if it’s a plastic model or a computer rendering, and arguably won’t even tell the difference come Bahrain when they see the real car.

You only have to read the comments on socials to know most people are suckered in by the teams and their pre-season show cars/mock ups.

So actually, they do the job they’re meant to very well - satisfy 90% of the public whilst not giving anything away to rivals.

Hell we have fans on this very forum who claim that even the 2021 cars all looked the same as each other!!

[Tizz]

I still have difficulty to understand the purpose of showing a car that is not going to test, not going to race and probably never will be produced. Not even as a mockup. I have even bigger problems understanding people having any interest in that.

Since RB seem that they will be showing a real chassis, it is almost certainly will be a real tub. To build a fake tub would be silly! If they are going to do a shakedown at Silverstone tomorrow, then the launch car probably actually has a power unit and wiring in it too -- all assembled and ready to be loaded in the truck for that matter (if the shakedown is not until weeks later then, sure, perhaps the bodywork is just hollow tomfoolery).

The very same chassis almost certainly will go to Silverstone (probably using the aero bits from the launch, which will be sufficient for a shakedown), it will go to Barcelona and it will probably go to Bahrain too, even if it is the spare car and the later tubs have some refinements. With the cost cap, they can't afford to build unncessarily build 7-8 tubs per season anymore.

I read some of the articles citing Marko's comments on the presentation but I could not find any clear statement or hint where he says that they are actually going to present a physical car. He is quoted however that the new car will not be ready until just before the test. Other than that he mainly refers to "the presentation". So I may be wrong, but I interpreted this as there will not be any physical car. Probably for the exact reason you give: the cost cap.