Max Verstappen chases second world title with a 1 on his RB18 | Instagram

By Arjan Schouten

With a digital launch from their own headquarters in Milton Keynes, the first images of the new battle weapon of Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez, the Oracle RB18, were shown to the world. With new partner and name sponsor, the American software company Oracle, prominent on the car, which is quite transformed compared to the RB16B. The technical regulations have changed significantly, especially in the field of aerodynamics. The starting point is of course that the sport wants to see more tension, more battle on the asphalt, more overtaking, less predictable races. That is why the entire concept of the cars has been overhauled.

The most eye-catching are the significantly larger wheels, from 13 to 18 inches. But also the floor, the wings, the new Pirelli tires, a lot has been done. The RB18 looks less complicated at first glance, the extremely well thought-out bargeboards are missing and the front and rear wings have been re-profiled. “Every component of the car has been reimagined, in pursuit of more exciting races, more competition. So it will be important to understand this concept as soon as possible, because development will never stop throughout the season,” said team boss Christian Horner. ,,With that impressive set of new rules, that will certainly not be easy, we are talking about the biggest changes in the last forty years. But the motivation is of course enormous after last year’s success. We are fully committed to defending that 1 on Max’s car.”

A 1 on the car. Lewis Hamilton never chose it as champion, but Verstappen immediately decides to use the opportunity to exchange his regular race number 33 in his first season as champion. “I’m really looking forward to jumping into that car and seeing how everything works,” said Verstappen, who has used the short winter break to recover from a particularly intense season. ,,We don’t know much about the new car, there are many uncertainties. The view from the cockpit is slightly different due to the bigger wheels and tires, the grip is a bit less. So I am very curious how that car will behave on the asphalt.”

The first test days will be in Barcelona in two weeks, while the season will open in Bahrain in mid-March.

• February 9: Red Bull
• February 10: Aston Martin
• February 11: McLaren
• February 14: Alpha Tauri
• February 17: Ferrari
• February 18: Mercedes
• February 21: Alpine
• February 27: Alfa Romeo

There are many new rules in Formula 1 this year. The cars will therefore have changed on a lot of points. Red Bull is the first team to present the new car.

In the run-up to the opening race on March 20 in Bahrain, test days are scheduled in Barcelona (23-25 ​​February) and Bahrain (10-12 March).

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