Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber pulled the wraps off of Red Bull Racing’s new car, the RB5, this morning at the Jerez circuit in Spain, and they’ve also released an awesome video to show what’s changed from last year’s cars to this. It’s definitely worth a watch:
It’s another car designed by Adrian Newey, and has his trademark pointy nose. Which looks pretty fragile to me, but then I’m not a world renowned designer so we can only assume he knows what he’s doing!
And apparently, they are being very careful to make sure no one takes photos of their new diffuser…
The car looks quite different to many of the other cars that we’ve already seen launched this year, and the RB5 has an intriguing bargeboard set-up around the front of the sidepods.
Overall though I think this is visually very impressive indeed. I’m sure Vettel is very much looking forward to unleashing this in anger when the test begins proper tomorrow.
Will this be the car that gets Red Bull further towards the front of the grid?
This has to be the best looking car so far this year. Lets hope they can translate looks into speed.
Definitely best interpretation of the new aero rules but if you watch the pictures from Jerez testing it just looks as silly as the rest.
Noticed Mr.Mosley is already blaming the aero group of experts for the 2009 fiasco?
pretty cool vid
Agree that it looks the best of the bunch. The sponsor decals seem to “fit” the car so much better than many others, reminisent of the old Martini sponsored cars of the 70’s/80’s.
This may not be the car to get red bull closer to the front of the grid but I have a feeling that Vettel will be the driver.
Poor old Mark Webber, I predict his driving will look like his leg is still broken compared to Vettel’s!
See, they’re “trying” to make the racing more exciting (not more financially viable, oh no), but then they say that some of the engines have to last 3 races, instead of two, so you’ll get the same kind of driving that the 3 boys showed on the that economy run to Blackpool. Helping the overtaking? I’m not so sure.
Nice looking thing though, and a good vid.
The front wing looks totally different to anything else thats been released.
it’ll be interesting to see how everything pans out this season – especailly if one of the ‘top’ teams have had a massive cock-up with their aero design…..
“I’m sure Vettel is very much looking forward to unleashing this in anger”
- Anger? He’ll probably be grinning toothily the way he always does beneath his helmet.
“they are being very careful to make sure no one takes photos of their new diffuser…”
- I found that funny, and as a result feel like a bit of an anorak.
Lowering revs, cars like damn ugly hybrid snowplows.
Does F1 wanne get rid of their fans??
Best looking car of ‘09 so far.
oh and ‘robby’, there arent many fans left so their trying to appeal to new ones.
and robby all the fans left, are die-hard fans so they wont be leaving
that nose looks wierd…..but the rest of the car looks awesome, red bull colours always look best on any racing car: F1, DTM, porsche GT3, etc
red bull colours are becoming the new gulf
I like the design and I`m courious which team chose the right aero concept!
That was a great video, it explained all the new rules so I can actually understand them! It’s harder to drive, and requires raw skill. Vettel should fare well, then.
Hopefully Webber’s Red Bull Renault won’t retain French reliability…
I do also agree that Red Bull colours are a future classic paint job btw. I saw a Baja Touareg, Audi DTMs, all kinda stuff with it on and it somehow just works.
Is Toro Rosso still going? Who’s their new driver?
Am I showing my age if the first thing I thought upon seeing the livery was Martini?
I like it, a lot, but i do think that it looks like it has a broken nose on the side profile
“Red Bull colours are becoming the new gulf”
Now where have i read that before….?
Body shape wise, this doesn’t look anymore attractive than the rest of the field, as its bizarre nose doesn’t do it any favours.
It looks nice. It’s a very agressive design and a big risk for a smaller team like Red bull.
And hey, Manbearpig, It looks alot more attractive than the rest of the field but I do agree about the werid nose.
Good luck foe next season, Red bull!
Whoops, It shoud be Good luck FOR next season.
Sorry.
The nose is long but it’s good. It does not look like it got beat with an ugly stick. Good job Red Bull.
I’m curious about the lack of photos of the rear diffuser.
Does this mean that it is on the same lines as Toyota and Williams or something more innovative?
Going to be very interesting come Austrialia.
Very nice video, I hope Vettel does well, he’s got talent to scare some of the “big boys”. I’m loving each new design (BMW and Renault are weird but still like them just because of that.
Can’t wait for Australia.
If it’s anywhere near the pace then I think Vettel will have a great season. I’m getting seriously antsy waiting for it to start up now…
Best looking car so far this year. If it’s anything like remotely close to the front then Vettel could be a major contender.
i think it looks okay it is the second best looker.The ferrari f60 is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mikeado
Toro Rosso are indeed still going and have just announced that they’re keeping Bourdais to drive alongside Buemi (‘08 GP2 driver) which means Button won’t have a drive unless the Honda sell-off goes to plan!
I have to admit that the Red Bull looks even better than the McLaren but i still think the cars look all out of proportion! As for keeping costs down – how many front wings are going to get mangled in first-corner/any other overtaking moves. I’ve bought a nice comfy pillow for the ‘09 season as i have a feeling it is going to be a bit of a yawn-fest!!!
that car has some tasty aero features! d exhausts r so low and so far back, the rear wing endplates almost touch the ground,..the coke bottle shape is the tightest ive seen on any car,. and that front wing looks so detailed,….any1 notice the “bulls testicle” hanging under the nose cone tho, wot d hell is dat!?
This, the McLaren and the Williams are the best looking this year, although the Ferrari is alright. The chunky Renault and BMWs are growing on me though…
Not sure what to expect for the season, though, but it’s looking like a good ‘un, except for the accident-prone nature of ten squillion yard wide front wings. To early to tell though.
Cannot wait for Australia! 46 days until Friday Practise (I’m that cool, I know)!
Also, the new Force India is being unveiled on March 1. The date for the Toro Rosso is ‘TBA March’.
Yessss, boost button= overtaking. Lots of it:D
brilliant video, made the rule changes a lot clearer, I cant wait for the season to start, but I fear its going to be a wierd season of everyone breaking down, becasue of the fact everyone has to design a new car completely from scratch. I hope I’m wrong….
Impressive animation. Looks like a video game tutorial, especially explaining the boost button “press it when you run out of grip and you will spin out”.
I think the boost button will be the only Button this year.
Time to go begging in America Jenson.
Nice car by the way.
And great video, good work RBR.
Looks very good atleast..but the eye candy is still in hold by the scarlet ferrari
can’t wait for march. I wanna know which team got the right package from this new rules.
The restrictions on these engines have to be removed, one engine one race. And get the freeze off of them, the areo changes I can live with and should make racing a bit more interesting but will spread the pack out again.
That is quite a lengthy front nose… it looks like Red Bull will have to hire a pro at the caber toss to run out with the spares.
Gents, take a look at the pictures taken at testing at Jerez, I am sorry but this yrs cars suck.
Didn’t miss a race since 1984, been at races, in the pits, at testing, name it, might call myself ‘insider’ and am angry because FIA done all last few years to jeopardize this game, with this yrs cars as icing on the cake. I will watch the races and hope it will work out but sense it might be beginning of the end of F1.
Adrian Newey does it again…A beauty….
Newey’s done it again! There’s alot of neat feaures on the car, from the high nose with sculpted tub and the cool front wing set up.
The back end of the car is more impressive however with a VERY low deck droppin away below the rear suspension even, something not seen on a Newey car since the McLarens of the early 00’s. The exhausts exit very low in the car too.
The treatment of the rear wing endplates is unique. No other team has endplates as big which indicates yet another loophole exploited by Red Bull, possibly the lower edges are used as a turning vane? The loophole found by Ferrari around the front of the sidepods has also been used here and its an interesting interpretation.
Can’t deny it, its a VERY good looking car!!
What I would like to know is why the FIA didn’t produce a video like this for all the so called new fans they are trying to attract? It’s very simple and tells you about last year and visually explains how things will be this year, surely the FIA should have done this? I almost feel as if the FIA would like to wind up F1 so they wouldn’t have the hassle, be able to sleep better knowing that there was less co2 in the atmosphere, and also Bernie and Max would be sleeping better with a shedload of money in the bank.
Is anyone else living in UK/Ireland/Western Europe slightly miffed that the first and last races are usually in a very far away time zone?! I’m getting back into F1 after years of channels I don’t have buying the rights but now with the BBC taking it I’m anticipating a good season, but I’m so not bothered getting up at 4 in the morning to watch the first race! Also the final race of the year is a real let down unless you want to annoy your wife by watching it live in the dark hours of the morning. I know it’s a bit selfish because other countries deserve the races but why is it always the start and the end of the season?
doppeltang, I dont know where youve got the idea that this season is going to be a yawnfest, it should be close, and theres the added mystery of the new rules… almost anyone could move up the field and challenge the big 2… i think its gonna be an immense season!!
Given how vulnerable the front wings of the 2009 cars look, should the Sunday Afternoon Club run a competition to see who can get nearest to how many cars will lose their front wings during the 2009 races?
Assuming that Honda enter, there will be 10 teams x two drivers x 17 races = 340 starts (or clean noses if you prefer).
And, of course, it’s entirely possible that a driver may lose more than one front wing in a race.
My guess is 150 new front wings throughout the season.
I fancy Cheryl Cole and would love to kiss her and more if she wasn’t married!!
I’ve given up on f1 now, the fact the Mosley intends to kick Ferrari out as he believes that they set him up just says it all. F1 IS A MESS.
It’s also clear that Honda will NOT have a buyer as there are alot of whispers coming from inside the factory indicating this. USF1 will endup being the new Honda = loads of money spent, nothing to show for it. It’s no wonder David Richards has withdrawn his interest in entering F1, Le Mans is alot more attractive.
Wake up call to Mosley and Co; while all this rubbish is happening over here, it’s worth noting that Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche, Honda, Chevrolet and Toyota are in talks with IRL about agreeing new engine regulations… my God Ecclestone is asleep!
The only thing hotter than this things looks is it’s gearbox
ref 50. and my wife…:D
this vid to F1 is like casting nigella lawson in tight denims into east enders… it´ll still be east enders.. but at random zapping with her on the screen you´ll watch untill you zap on..
these cars would look great if it wasnt for the stupid rear wings >:(
With the clean slate that all the teams have been working with, and the fact that Newey designed this car, I think it’s safe to call the new Red Bull contender a “blue McLaren.” If Newey had stayed at McLaren and worked with the new rules, this is the car that would have been Lewis and Heikki’s ride. Exciting stuff for Red Bull fans.
If Red Bull is ever going to make a bid for the front of the pack, this is the car that is gonna get them there.
this car looks totally modern compared to the BMW which looks like is made from wood. Adrian newey is a genius!!
Great to see reb bull trying to add some buzz into the new rule changes in f1. That rear diffuser really does take the rules to the limit, whether it will take red bull to the front is another quest (just look at the testing problems!!!) Adrian Newey really has designed an elegant car, didn’t think that the williams would be beaten on that front.
Noticed most car magazines are reluctant to place pictures of the ‘09 cars? Scared to loose readers?
Must be hard to take good pictures out of coming season, never seen uglier cars before, even a Prius is more in proportion than these snowplows.
Pity this generation drivers for having to drive these Lego cars.
Just in case anyone hadn’t spotted it – the reason Red Bull are reluctant to show off too much detail of the rear or the RBR5 is not because of some revolutionary diffuser. It’s because of their quite un-revolutionary suspension. The new car uses pull-rod rather than the push-rod suspension everyone has been using for the past 2 decades. Pull-rods are an idea from the dark-ages of F1, but in this case allow that really low-slung rear. Back to the future for genius Newey?!
Someone at FIA must have forced Vettel to say that the hideous rear wing increases overtaking. It just increases laughter when you look at it.
However another brilliant one from Newey, even though no new car will be as brilliant as 2005 McLaren MP4-20, that was the ultimate car.
Still think a huge number of front wings will litter the tarmac, meeting other wings, tyres, everything. Luckily, the wide wing is too daft a idea to last. Hopefully.
Well thats the best way to show the changes!! looks good!! not the best tho…..
It’s gotta be a fight between Williams, Red Bull and BMW for this year…… Mclaren and Ferrari spent too long on their 08 cars (even though Kovalainen and Massa went fastest in Jerez and Bahrain
NP, can I have some of what you’re smoking? Ferrari and McLaren could have started working on their new cars TODAY and they’d still be up front. It’s just the way of the world…but hopefully we’ll see more of the “best of the rest” up front this year.
I think the fight is going to be between Hami, Kimi, Massa, and Vettel. I think Vettel has a chance of pulling a “Keke” and making a run at the championship with consistent finishes and only a few wins (maybe even just one like Keke).
Is it me or do I also miss something in the sound when I watch the Youtube Jerez testing? Is this the 1000revs less or the KERS? Oh, if only the V10s were there again and no ugly wings and no stupid KERS….
The nose of the car look’s like a duck’s beak but if they belive that this car can win races this year I should not mock about it and take this car very serious.
RBR=best out of this year’s (stupid) regulations.
ING pulling out and so might Renault.
Thanks FIA, 2009 might well be last edition of what was once the best game on the planet !
That vid was cool! Why cant every team make one?
If the car works as good as it looks, it will be right up there, especially with Vettel on board. Lets face it, if he can win in the B-Team car, he’s bound to able to do it with this one, i just hope that having a different engine wont have tobig an effect! And also, is it me, or does anyone else think that employees back at the Renault factory are starting to think why the hell did we use a huge cardboard box for our front wing?
lookin good cant wait for the season to start!!!!! Red Bulls a contender, watch out!!!!!
If they can get passed Torro Rosso
I like it, very good looking car.
Red Bull car looks great,colours have always had the edge.Wished they would use another engine though.Vettel looks to be the one to watch this year.
Hope the scare-mongers are wrong about it being last F1 although changes at the top to allow more ex-F1 drivers to run Formula 1 wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Is it just me or are the RedBull colours becoming the new ‘Gulf’?
yeah i think it might be just you mate