Red Bull RB18 breaks cover at F1 Barcelona test
Red Bull’s radical new 2022 Formula 1 car has appeared in public for the first time, as pre-season testing got underway at Barcelona in Spain on Wednesday.


The Milton Keynes-based team, which helped Max Verstappen to his maiden F1 drivers’ championship last year, has kept the car away from being in the spotlight so far.
Having just revealed an updated show car at its official launch earlier this month, the team completed a behind closed doors shakedown at Silverstone on a promotional filming day with only some low res video footage from onlookers appearing..
But as official testing got underway in Spain on Wednesday, the new RB18 was spotted for the first time as Verstappen was tasked with its early running.
The new car certainly did not disappoint in its ambition, with it featuring perhaps the most aggressive sidepod solution we have seen on any of the cars so far.
As well as narrow inlet, the design sees a bold undercut that is carried back quite a way before merging with the coke bottle region of the car.
It is a stark departure from what Red Bull’s rivals have done, with the sidepod area of the cars having been an area of clear difference between teams ahead of the 2022 campaign.
The Red Bull nose also features an interesting solution as it merges with the second wing element rather than going all the way to the front.
Red Bull is hopeful that the all-new aero regulations for 2022 will give it a good opportunity to go for the championship again.
Speaking at the team launch, however, team boss Red Bull Christian Horner was mindful about the possibility of other teams having discovered some design secret to give them an edge.
“We are aiming to build on what we achieved last year,” he said. “The target is to try to retain the title.
“The big unknown is have we missed something with these regulations and has someone else stolen a march?”
Verstappen will drive the RB18 for all of Wednesday, before handing the car over to teammate Sergio Perez for Thursday’s running. The pair will then get half a day each on Friday.

Who’s driving on day 1 of F1 testing in Barcelona?
The secrets revealed in Red Bull's belated RB18 unveiling

Latest news
De Vries cleared of wrongdoing in dispute over €250K loan
Nyck de Vries has been cleared of any wrongdoing in an Amsterdam court over a claim launched against him by real estate magnate Jeroen Schothorst relating to a €250,000 loan.
Horner admits Red Bull’s real RB19 will be ‘somewhat different’
Red Bull boss Christian Horner says the real RB19 that will appear in Formula 1 testing in Bahrain later this month will be ‘somewhat different'.
Horner hints at closer links between Mercedes and Williams F1 teams
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has hinted that there could be a closer relationship between the Mercedes and Williams Formula 1 teams in the wake of James Vowles’s move.
Ford remains committed to WRC amid F1 return
Ford has stated that it remains committed to its programme in the World Rally Championship following confirmation of its return to Formula 1 as an engine supplier from 2026.
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
How do the best races of F1 2022 stack up to 2021?
OPINION: A system to score all the grands prix from the past two seasons produces some interesting results and sets a standard that 2023 should surely exceed
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Why F1's nearly man is refreshed and ready for his return
He has more starts without a podium than anyone else in Formula 1 world championship history, but Nico Hulkenberg is back for one more shot with Haas. After spending three years on the sidelines, the revitalised German is aiming to prove to his new team what the F1 grid has been missing
The potential-laden F1 car that Ferrari neglected
The late Mauro Forghieri played a key role in Ferrari’s mid-1960s turnaround, says STUART CODLING, and his pretty, intricate 1512 was among the most evocative cars of the 1.5-litre era. But a victim of priorities as Formula 1 was deemed less lucrative than success in sportscars, its true potential was never seen in period
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.