Red Bull launched their new challenger – the RB19 – in New York on Friday afternoon.
In typical fashion, teams don’t tend to unveil their actual cars during these events, rather that they use them for marketing purposes or an opportunity to unveil new sponsors.
Red Bull did that by announcing their engine partnership with American giant Ford.
Talking to the media after the launch of the RB19, Horner admitted there will be a number of changes to the car for Bahrain on March 5.
“I think the car that we’ve shown today will be somewhat different when you see it in Bahrain,” he said. “Today was really about launching the team’s aspirations for the year ahead, the partners that we have and of course the exciting partnership we have with Ford.
“To do it here in the US, in this market, is the first time ever for Red Bull Racing. So yes, what you’ve seen today obviously isn’t a total reflection of what will hit the track in Bahrain in a couple of weeks time.”
Red Bull will head into 2023 in search of their third consecutive drivers’ title with Max Verstappen.
However, one thing they will have to contend with is restrictions on wind tunnel time after they were found guilty of breaking the cost cap rules.
Speaking about that particular issue, Horner said: “We’re doing the best with what we’ve got. The team have had to adapt to the handicap that we have. They have done a wonderful job in doing that. Is it enough? We’ll find out in a couple of weeks time as a starting point. It’s certainly a significant handicap that we carry for the majority of the year.
“We’ve accepted it, we’ve looked to adapt, to ensure that we’re as efficient as we possibly can be. We’ll see when RB19 runs on the track in anger if we’ve done enough.”
