Red Bull Motorsports
F1
Oracle Red Bull Racing unveil 2026 F1 livery as Ford Powertrains era begins
Kicking off the first season of Red Bull Ford Powertrains, Oracle Red Bull Racing reveals its 2026 F1 livery in Detroit. Max Verstappen declares why he’s excited about the new Formula 1 car.
Part of this story
Oracle Red Bull Racing is powering into the future, building the next generation of F1 engines in partnership with Ford: Red Bull Ford Powertrains. During the official season launch at Ford’s Michigan Central HQ in Detroit, USA, the team revealed the striking and glossy new livery that the RB22 will wear when Max Verstappen and his new team-mate Isack Hadjar take to the track at the Australian Grand Prix at the opening race in March.
01
Oracle Red Bull Racing’s 2026 F1 livery: first look
The glossy finish is a nod to the team's heritage
© Oracle Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool
And the covers came off in Red Bull style with a launch video played to the crowds on site showing Czech pilot Martin Šonka using his Cobra aerobatic plane to unveil the stunning new car livery. The 2018 Red Bull Air Race World Champion manoeuvred his aircraft to pass low over the top of the car, grabbing a sky hook and snatching off the covers.
Martin Šonka showcased Oracle Red Bull Racing's new livery
© Dan Vojtech/Red Bull Content Pool
It's lift off for the 2026 F1 season
© Dan Vojtech/Red Bull Content Pool
We'll be seeing plenty more of this car in 2026
© Samo Vidic/Red Bull Content Pool
02
What’s new in the 2026 design?
The new-look racing blue livery with crisp white accents is a return to the glossy paint finishes worn by the team when it first entered F1 in 2005.
Team Principal Laurent Mekies added: "2026 marks the start of a new and significant era for Formula One and for Red Bull. We wanted our livery to reflect this, while also giving a nod to Red Bull Racing's beginnings. We are in F1 because of the dream of one man, Dietrich Mateschitz, and several years later, he had another dream, to create an engine.
A top-down look at the new livery
© Oracle Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool
Beneath the livery will run the first-ever ORBR-made engine
© Oracle Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool
Will 3 be the magic number for Max Verstappen in 2026?
© Oracle Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool
The glossy finish is a nod to the team's heritage
© Oracle Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool
A bold new design for a bold new era
© Oracle Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool
"This livery is designed to celebrate that spirit that we entered the sport with. In the year that an Oracle Red Bull Racing car carries a Red Bull Ford Powertrains PU for the first time, it felt only right to reflect some of our history in our livery."
With its new engine, design and striking livery, the RB22 is carrying the spirit of the Red Bull founder into its new era as it comes full circle to partner with Ford.
03
A new chapter in F1 with Red Bull Ford Powertrains
Detroit's Michigan Central Station was the venue for the launch
© Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
The biggest change is the RB22 will be powered by an engine developed in house by Red Bull Powertrains in partnership with Ford Racing.
While the V6 engine designs are being tweaked, the complex Motor-Generator Unit – MGU-K present a major technical challenge. The system recovers kinetic energy from braking and converts it into a boost of power for the driver. For 2026, half of the RB22’s power will be derived from electrical energy – that’s nearly three times as much.
Ford have their own storied history in F1: the Ford-Cosworth DFV engine is legendary, powering Jim Clark to victory in its first outing at the 1967 Dutch Grand Prix, proceeded to claim another 154 world championship races and remained in use in F1 until 1983. The new Red Bull Ford engine comes with an impressive pedigree.
Ford has a rich history in motor racing
© Chris Tedesco/Red Bull Content Pool
Laurent Mekies added: "The Team have done an incredible job, to be here today and to be in the position to go to Barcelona Shakedown with our own car and our own power unit for the first time ever. This is the result of the efforts of 2,000 people at the Red Bull Technology Campus, the most talented group that you can find and they've been working together to get us to this moment. It's the beginning of an extremely exciting journey for all of us and we'l take to the track as one - one Red Bull chassis and power unit.”
On stage, Bill Ford, Executive Chair of Ford Motor Company, said: “125 years ago, my great grandfather, Henry Ford, won a race right here in Detroit to help launch the Ford Motor Company. Ford has a story in the history of Formula One, and now we're here to write the next chapter with Red Bull.”
As a fitting tribute to the spirit of innovation and adventure, the first Red Bull Powertrains engine is badged DM01 in honour of Dietrich Mateschitz, who spearheaded Red Bull's decision to become an engine manufacturer.
04
A new generation of F1 cars
The livery is revealed to an expectant crowd in Detroit
© Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
The biggest rule change in the history of F1 presents a new challenge to every team as a new generation of engines wll power the grid as new regulations will reshape the cars. In the past five seasons, Max Verstappen and Oracle Red Bull Racing have rewritten the F1 record books. Having narrowly missed out on a fifth title in 2025 despite a spectacular fightback in the second half of the season, Verstappen will be leading the charge on track.
The four-time F1 world champion will be partnered by a new team-mate in Isack Hadjar, the rapid young Frenchman stepping across from Visa Cash App Racing Bulls (VCARB) after a superb rookie season.
On the pit wall, Principal Laurent Mekies begins his first full season in charge of the Oracle Red Bull Racing team, leading a hugely experienced and successful group of designers, engineers, strategists and mechanics whose will to win is matched by the competitive hunger of the thousand-plus workforce working tirelessly at the Red Bull Technology Campus in Milton Keynes.
The RB22 is designed by Pierre Waché and his team, and follows in the treads of machines like the world-beating RB19, the most dominant F1 car of all time. The new chassis will be narrower, shorter and lighter than its older sibling with new active aerodynamic features to encourage faster cornering and more wheel-to-wheel racing.
05
Driver reactions to the new look: Verstappen and Hadjar weigh in
Asked for his first thoughts, Max Verstappen joked: "I think it's much better. I've been asking for this for a while, so this is great. I like the shine. I like the blue. It's my favourite colour." The four-time world champion added: "I like the outlines of the rainbow logo as well. It's back. It's much more fresh."
The Oracle Red Bull Racing team with the new livery
© Mark Thompson/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
New team-mate Hadjar added: "It's a real privilege to be part of Oracle Red Bull Racing and be next to Max. I love the front wing and gloss as during night races it will stand out."
Isack Hadjar in the 2026 team kit
© Mark Thompson/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
I love the front wing and gloss as during night races it will stand out
Laurent Mekies added: "The car looks stunning, we wanted to give it a special touch with the gloss for this new chapter. and we hope the fans enjoy it."
06
Watch the Oracle Red Bull Racing 2026 F1 livery launch in full
2026 Season Launch with Red Bull Ford Powertrains
Red Bull F1 teams unveil liveries for the 2026 season, and the new partnership with Red Bull Ford Powertrains.
You can rewatch the launch event in full in the player above.
Part of this story
