Oracle Red Bull Racing unveil their 2022 F1 car, the RB18

World Championship winning F1 Team, Oracle Red Bull Racing have launched their 2022 F1 car which Max Verstappen will drive to defend his maiden World Championship title.

The four-time champion team, Red Bull have become the second team to show off their car after their American rival Haas did so last Firday, revealing the first images of their 2022 F1 car, the RB18.

The outfit also confirmed that US tech giant Oracle will replace Honda as the team’s main sponsor with the logo featuring on the rear wing and side of the new RB18. The partnership will help the team increase the number of simulations they ran 1,000x to improve the accuracy of their predictions.

The new car will be piloted by an unchaged driver line-up which consists of reigning world champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. The duo of the Dutch and Mexican driver will drive the RB18 in anger at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on 23-25 February when all teams complete the first three days of pre-season testing.

Commenting on the launch of the new car, defending champion Max Verstappen said: “I’m feeling recharged and ready to get driving again, I feel good and it’s important that you prepare yourself in the best way possible physically, particularly when things are changing with the shakeup in regulations. In terms of the car, we don’t know what to fully expect so I’m excited to see how the car behaves on the track for the first time.

"The biggest adaptation this season will be the new regulations, we’ll need some time to get used to the car, it is not like you just jump in and it’s an upgrade from last year. The rest is pretty straightforward, I don’t feel any extra pressure this season, I will just do what I do all the time because I don’t think there is any reason to be different. Now I just I can’t wait for that first moment when I drive out of the pitlane in the RB18.”

Sergio Perez added : “I am so excited to start the new season and I cannot wait to be on track with the new RB18. All of us on the grid are starting from zero this season so it is set to be an exciting year. Last year, we gave it our all until the very last lap and we are ready to do the same in 2022. The new regulations are said to improve the competition on track, so I hope that for us as drivers we can compete more, race more and follow each other more closely.

"here will be a lot of things we need to learn and adapt to but these new regulations are set to make everything very interesting. One thing I can’t wait for this season is to see more fans back at the track, Formula One is growing so much all over the world so I can’t wait to feel that atmosphere again. I hope that we can give the fans great entertainment and great racing.”

Oracle Red Bull Racing CEO and Team Principal Christian Horner, said: “With the new regulation changes this year, the whole philosophy has altered, which means every single component is different to last year’s car. It’s a clean sheet of paper for every single team. By the time we get to the first race, the RB18 won’t look much like it looks today, the evolution will be very quick as we progress through the season. It is a steep learning curve for everyone and it is a contest in development between the first and the last race.

"We believe we have a good car for 2022, the RB18 is coming to life and seeing it today is fantastic. It has been a huge effort from the Team and I am looking forward to seeing it out on the track now. We plan to build on 2021, we have number one on the car this year and now the challenge is it keep it and defend that title with Max. The excitement and hard work of 2021 really galvanised the Team and it means we go into 2022 in great shape for the season ahead," Horner concluded.