Red Bull F1 2026 secrets revealed with RB22 unveiling

While presenting its new F1 livery in Detroit, Red Bull released renders of the actual Red Bull RB22 online, giving an initial glimpse at several interesting elements.

While some intriguing design details can be noted, it is likely the car will undergo major changes before the first race of the year, with three pre-season tests scheduled in the weeks ahead.

But based on the first look, the car has adopted a push-rod layout at both the front and rear suspension, a feature that will be common to many cars this year amid a major shift in the aerodynamic regulations.

One particular area of interest is the front end, and specifically the nose cone area, which has a narrow, arrow-shaped cross-section at its tip, supported by two small pillars that connect it to the front wing.

It is evident that, at the level of the flap profiles, the design is far from definitive - nevertheless, the shape of the endplates is noteworthy. 

Although they are bent toward the inner edge of the front wheels, they feature external winglets that tend to generate outwash. 

As we had also predicted in the preview of the Ferrari SF-26, the lower part of the nose is sculpted to induce a large amount of airflow into the undercut area beneath the sidepods. 

The sidepods appear to be a miniaturised version of those adopted on the RB21.

In particular, the inclination of the upper profile is very steep, and the width of the lower undercut highlights how much the rear end has been narrowed, practically forming a second skin over the power unit’s mechanical components.

The article continues below the images.

The familiarity of the floor

At the floor level, the design closely resembles that of the 2021 cars, which marked the final year before the ground-effect challengers came into play in 2022.

The floor has a wide series of slits ahead of the rear wheels to generate an effective pneumatic seal. 

The engine cover, very tightly wrapped around the lower mechanical components, extends toward the rear end with a megaphone-shaped section, featuring a horizontally oriented air vent at the base of the double pylon that supports the rear wing.

The latter component, based on the proposed render, appears very conventional and not particularly well defined in its profiles. It is certain to be different to the car that will debut on-track in Barcelona.

It's also worth pointing out the circular crown–shaped wheel fairings, which in this case make the central portion of the rims visible.

Returning to the sidepods, it is evident that the radiator inlets have retained the letterbox-style cross-section that has characterised the Red Bull challenger since 2024.

The power unit air intake has an ovoid shape divided into three sections, with the central one dedicated to air supply and the two others to cooling the electrical components and the ERS heat exchangers. 

But a point worth reiterating, these are only early renders, and the final product may look different as the car continues to be developed ahead of the first round of the year.

Nevertheless, the details described above highlight a car that is very well defined in all its areas, featuring striking aerodynamic elements such as the front bargeboards - albeit only certainly in a baseline version.

It still shows how some aerodynamic principles from cars of two previous generations have become relevant again. 

These will certainly be among the areas that will undergo progressive development, starting from testing and continuing throughout the season.

It's a car that does not surprise but undoubtedly serves as a realistic base to later evaluate measures to increase performance.