team abandons matte paint at launch held in Detroit; Car marks the debut of its own power unit for 2026
Red Bull Racing kicked off the Formula 1 launch season by unveiling, this week, the visual identity of the RB22 for the 2026 championship. The event, symbolically held in Detroit (USA), at Ford’s headquarters, marked the official beginning of the technical partnership with the North American automaker and the team’s debut as a manufacturer of its own power units.
The car presented breaks with the aesthetic tradition of recent years by abandoning the matte finish. The new colour scheme adopts a glossy varnish over the classic navy blue, now combined with a light blue jacquard pattern and black accents, reflecting the team’s new corporate identity. The RB22 will be driven by four-time champion Max Verstappen and his new teammate, Frenchman Isack Hadjar.
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The launch carries significant technical weight: it is the first chassis designed to accommodate the engine developed in-house by the newly created Red Bull Ford Powertrains division. The project aims to meet the new engine regulations that come into force in 2026, ending the cycle of dependence on Honda.
According to Ben Hodgkinson, technical director of the engine division, the development was seen as a “blank slate”. This approach allowed us to shape the company’s structure specifically for the requirements of the new rules, consolidating a culture of accelerated innovation over the last four years of preparation.
To reinforce the spectacle and the bold spirit of the brand, the car’s reveal featured a performance by aerobatic pilot Martin Sonka, who removed the vehicle’s cover using his plane in a low flight.
The 2026 Formula 1 season is scheduled to start on the weekend of March 6-8, with the Australian Grand Prix. Before that, the teams will hold collective pre-season testing in February, where the real performance of the new Red Bull-Ford package will be put to the test.
