Red Bull unveil RB19 car as Max Verstappen hunts third F1 title

Red Bull made a splash as they unveiled their brand-new RB19 challenger for the upcoming 2023 season at a glitzy launch event in New York on Friday afternoon. The car, which is decked out in the team’s traditional colours of navy blue and red, will be driven by Max Verstappen over the coming months as he looks to emulate Lewis Hamilton by winning three Drivers’ Championship titles in a row at the end of the campaign.

Sergio Perez will also be getting behind the wheel of the RB19 over the course of the upcoming season, during which Red Bull will be the ones to beat after a hugely dominant year in 2022. They managed to seal their first Constructors’ Championship triumph since 2013 thanks to their consistently impressive team performances, ending Mercedes’ eight-year stronghold on the collective honours.

Red Bull were the second team to reveal their livery for 2023 after Haas kicked things off earlier this week and had over 250,000 people watching online as they whisked the covers off the all-new RB19 for the very first time. However, they have resisted the temptation to switch up their iconic design to usher in the new year, with the paint job largely the same as it has been for the last seven seasons.

The Austrian outfit will be hoping that the sum of their hard work will be able to carry Verstappen to another Drivers’ Championship title at the expense of his rivals over the coming months, with the Dutchman set to go into the campaign as the overwhelming favourite to claim the spoils once again. However, team principal Christian Horner acknowledged at Friday’s launch that nobody at Red Bull is under the illusion that it will be easy to defend last year’s titles from the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari.

JUST IN: Lewis Hamilton fears he may never beat Max Verstappen to another title

“We go from being the hunters to the hunted now,” Horner told Sky Sports. “We go into the season with No 1 on the car as the world Drivers’ and Constructors’ Champions, it’s the first time since 2013 that it’s been the case for us. That’s added motivation.

“The year that he had last year with 17 victories out of 22 races and two out of the three sprint races, it was a dream season and it will be difficult to top. I’m sure our opponents are going to be super competitive and other teams as well, looking to make steps forward, we don’t underestimate any of our competitors.”

Horner also revealed that Red Bull will be holding a competition that will allow fans to submit their own livery designs for the races in Miami, Austin and Las Vegas in 2023. They went on to show off a specially-created car designed by ‘Mr Doodle’ that will be auctioned off to raise money for the team’s chosen charity, Wings For Life.

“For the three races in the USA, fans can have a say in the design of the car,” added Horner. “Anyone can enter a design, a jury will decide the best. It’s going to be a competition, it’s a huge opportunity and we’ve thought long and hard about it, but we know it’s what people want to see.”

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