The impatience was certainly high this morning within the Red Bull Racing team. Impatience to turn the page on a complicated 2015 season, marked by three meager podiums and especially by a more than strained relationship with Renault. It must be said that the Austrian team was no longer used to being deprived of success: it had experienced six winning seasons since 2009.<\/p>\n
The team is therefore going at it full throttle with this new single-seater, the twelfth since the takeover of the Jaguar team at the end of 2004.<\/p>\n
\nInstall lap for @DanielRicciardo<\/a> and the #RB12<\/a> complete. 2016 is underway! \ud83d\ude4c #F1isback<\/a> #F1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/1OnHAGf2U8<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) February 22, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Confiding about the new car, the team’s director, Christian Horner, recalled the specific context of the RB12’s production: “Obviously, the late decision on our engine choice was a challenge, but we found a solution in time, and the team as a whole did tremendous work this winter. In this sense, we are in the process of finding ideas to continue our strong second half of the 2015 season.”<\/p>\n
As a reminder, the Austrian team only officially announced their new engine at the beginning of December. After months of discussions, the Red Bull-Renault partnership remains in place, this time in the form of a rebadged engine under the name Tag-Heuer, as part of a sponsorship agreement between the team and the Swiss watch brand.<\/p>\n
Christian Horner especially hopes that his team will raise its level compared to last year. Besides the inevitable development of the car, he also reiterated his main focus: I also hope above all that we will develop our power unit in order to get closer to our closest rivals.<\/p>\n
When asked about his new prot\u00e9g\u00e9, Adrian Newey admitted, for once, that he is constrained by the current aerodynamic limitations: “I’ve often wondered which part of this car I liked the most but with this stable and little evolving regulation, it’s very difficult to find any aerodynamic part to exploit. Despite this, we have tried to design a coherent car between its suspensions, chassis design, and aerodynamics. I think we’ve learned lessons from the previous year. The indications we’ve gathered in the simulator suggest to me that this year’s chassis is well-born.”<\/p>\n
Now there is nothing left but to wait for the first laps in Barcelona to see if the four-time world champion team will be able to return to its glorious past level.<\/p>\n
Let’s hope, in any case, that this new model doesn’t take away the legendary smile from Daniel Ricciardo’s face!<\/p>\n
\nSo how does it feel to be back on track @danielricciardo<\/a>? \ud83d\ude01\ud83d\udc4d #F1isback<\/a> #F1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/5VOvD6PT14<\/a><\/p>\n