Horner: RB18 will look very different at F1 season opener

Red Bull’s 2022 Formula 1 car won’t look “very much” like the RB18 on display at the team’s launch event, admits team boss Christian Horner.

The Milton Keynes-based outfit became the second F1 team to unveil its new challenger ahead the 2022 season on Wednesday, but is remaining secretive about the look of the RB18.

It is expected that with the fresh challenge created by this year’s major regulation changes that teams will keep their cards close to their chest when launching their 2022 designs.

And at the unveiling of Red Bull’s 2022 car, Horner was quick to point out the evolution of the rule changes means its car will look different by the first race in Bahrain.

“Because it’s new regulations it’s going to evolve very, very quickly,”  Horner said.

“I mean, I think by the time we get to the first race the car is not going to look very much like this.

“And I think the evolution will be very, very quick, as we progress through the season.”

Expanding on how the rules reset will impact car development over the season, Horner said: “The car is a prototype, basically at every race it’s evolving.

“It will probably never run in the same configuration twice, it’s just constantly evolving.

“Now, we have to do that within the framework of the financial regulations, so we’ve got to be really choosy on where we’re going to spend our money to develop this car this year.”

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen is relishing the challenge of the new regulations but expects it will take “some time” to adapt to the new cars.

“I’m excited to see how the car behaves on the track for the first time,” Verstappen said.

“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