The presentation of Red Bull's new RB18 will not give away many design secrets, according to Helmut Marko. The team are set to unveil their 2022 F1 car, with which Max Verstappen will seek to defend his 2021 Drivers' Championship, on 9 February. The RB18 will be the first car designed by Red Bull to conform to F1's sweeping new technical regulations. But rival teams should not waste their time trying to glean any details from the RB18 when the covers come off, as Marko explained that nothing important will be included in the presentation. "The presentation, which is important for fans and sponsors, does not show any special details on the car," Marko told Germany's Sport1.
Is Red Bull's planned shakedown now off the table?
The RB18 is currently in the manufacturing and development stages as the team gear up to hit the track at the first pre-season test in Barcelona. Marko hinted that the planned shakedown of the new car at Silverstone after the launch , as mentioned previously by team boss Christian Horner, may no longer be part of Red Bull's plans for the coming weeks. "The new car will only be ready shortly before the start of testing in Barcelona on 23 February," Marko said. "From then on it will be further developed and will receive another update for the first race of the season on 20 March in Bahrain." Marko further implied that the RB18 will not be ready until the last moment, saying the far-reaching rules changes have had an effect on development. "The rules stayed the same last year, so we decided to have the car ready very early for the 2021 season," he explained. "At the time, this decision proved to be the right one, but now, it's exactly the opposite. With the new rules, everyone wants to be finished as late as possible – also so as not to show everything too early." RacingNews365.com has reached out to Red Bull for comment regarding whether the shakedown will go ahead.
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