Red Bull Formula 1 launched its '18 car on Monday -- including the new halo over the cockpit -- "a week before testing begins in Barcelona," according to Rebecca Clancy of the LONDON TIMES. So far, Red Bull is "the biggest team to reveal how the head protection for drivers will look on the F1 circuit this season." The RB14 car also features a "special livery" for Monday's track day at Silverstone. The race livery will be unveiled at winter testing in Barcelona next week. Driver Daniel Ricciardo was behind the wheel on Monday for an official "filming" day, "one of two allowed to teams each year," with running "limited to 100km" and specific tires provided by Pirelli (LONDON TIMES, 2/19). The BBC's Andrew Benson reported the RB14 "bucks the team's trend of recent years, by appearing well before" the start of preseason testing. The team said that launching "aggressively late" allowed more time to develop the car, but that it "did not need to launch late this year." Renault and Sauber are launching on Tuesday, Mercedes and Ferrari on Thursday and McLaren on Friday. The new car is a "clear evolutionary development of last year's RB13 but features a number of technical innovations" (BBC, 2/19). REUTERS' Alan Baldwin reported images of the RB14 car were revealed online, "with a temporary blue and black livery and branding for new title sponsor Aston Martin prominent" (REUTERS, 2/19).
