The intensity of the current Formula 1 title fight has prompted Red Bull to abandon plans for special liveries in Singapore and the USA
Red Bull has scrapped its plans for fan-inspired liveries at the Singapore and US Grands Prix. This is due to concerns about the additional weight that the special liveries would entail.
The Milton Keynes-based team had invited fans to submit designs to be used at the UK, Singapore and US races this season. The first design was unveiled at Silverstone this year.
However, with the battle for the championship with McLaren and Ferrari becoming ever closer, there was a change of plans for the Singapore race this weekend.
During the concept phase for the creation of the special livery planned for Singapore, it turned out that the color scheme would have increased the weight of the car by around one kilogram.
Red Bull does not want to take any risks
While the difference in performance is only around 0.03 seconds per lap, the team decided not to take any risks in the face of close competition and not to jeopardize its title chances because of a marketing campaign.
Ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, it was confirmed that plans for special liveries have been abandoned for the time being and that the regular colors will be retained for the rest of the season
A statement from the team said: “Unfortunately, during the testing phase of how some of the designs might look in real life on the RB20, we found that the paint used to create these liveries added unexpected and inappropriate weight to the bodywork of the RB20.”
“As you can imagine, any additional weight affects performance and the team continues to prioritize making this car as competitive as possible for the remainder of the 2024 season.”
“It is therefore with a heavy heart that we have to inform you that the team has taken the decision not to use the special liveries on the RB20 at the Singapore and USA Grand Prix,” the statement concluded.
FIA: Too much black on Formula 1 cars
In recent years, Formula 1 teams have repeatedly struggled to bring their cars up to the minimum weight limit. Many liveries have been scaled back as a result. However, this is a thorn in the side of the FIA.
According to information from Motorsport.com, those responsible for the series are in talks about reducing the excessive use of black on the cars in future.
Nikolas Tombazis, FIA Director for Single Seaters, states: “One problem is that the cars have too much bare carbon, which is obviously due to the weight of the paint. So the cars have a bit too much black.”
“All the teams have worked a lot on changing the type of paint. Nowadays, extremely thin layers of paint are used to keep the weight as low as possible.”