Red Bull has abandoned its plan to run a special livery at this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix because doing so would have increased the weight of its RB20.
The team launched its ‘Rebl Custms’ livery competition in April, inviting fans to craft special designs for its car based on a series of pre-defined templates. The first fan creation appeared during the British Grand Prix weekend.Further special designs were due to appear at this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix and next month’s United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. However the team has now confirmed this will not go ahead in order to avoid adding further weight to their car.
“Unfortunately, when we came to the testing phase of what some Rebl Custms designs could look like, in real life, on the RB20, we found the paint used to create these bespoke, full car takeover liveries, added unforeseen and undue weight to the bodywork of the RB20,” said a statement issued by the team.
“Any additional weight compromises performance and the team are continuing to prioritise making this car as competitive as possible for the remainder of the 2024 season. As a result, it is with a heavy heart that we must let you know the team has made the decision to not run the Redb Custms liveries on the RB20 at the Singapore and United States GPs.”
Max Verstappen qualified fourth for the British Grand Prix in the custom-liveried RB20, 0.3 seconds off pole-winner George Russell. He finished the race second to Lewis Hamilton in the other Mercedes.
Red Bull have suffered a sharp decline in performance compared to their rivals since the start of the season. Having won seven of the first 10 grands prix they have not won any of the last seven rounds. McLaren overtook them at the top of the constructors’ championship standings last weekend in Azerbaijan and Lando Norris has cut Verstappen’s lead in the drivers’ championship to 59 points.
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The team’s first car design to meet F1’s overhauled technical regulations in 2022 was overweight. A successful weight reduction programme that year transformed the RB19 into a dominant machine.
Red Bull retained clear superiority over the field during 2023 when it won all bar one of the 22 rounds. It introduced its custom livery competition that season and won the three races where the special designs appeared.
Mercedes will run a special livery at this weekend’s race but has not indicated whether doing so would add any weight to the W15. Ferrari, McLaren, RB and Alpine have also run one-off livery designs during the course of the season.
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Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
18th September 2024, 10:41
Rebl Cstms has already saved as much weight as it can by dropping letters. Maybe LKYSNZ or an Indy Nxt team could use the winning designs.
notagrumpyfan
18th September 2024, 10:52
It’s always preferable to have a lite car.
Nick T.
19th September 2024, 2:15
I thought RF was being satirical at first. What unintentional parody.
James Kelly
18th September 2024, 10:47
But they have the ‘GOAT’ driver and the team is “more than one man” [Newey].
What’s gone wrong?
Nick T.
18th September 2024, 14:43
The RBR wings weigh too much.
This is absurd. Just mandate cars use x weight’s worth of paint and stickers so they can actually look their best. A couple of ounces will make absolutely zero difference to how they perform.
Ben
18th September 2024, 15:43
Exactly James, I remember people saying Max could win in the Mercedes in 2022.
The RedBull is far superior to that, so why isn’t he winning?
Does it turn out the car does in face play a part, like it always has.
Since the drop in pace he’s looked very average indeed.
PeteB (@peteb)
18th September 2024, 18:19
Absolutely – it’s why his always hilarious to see people banging on about drivers being GOATs because they happened to drive a dominant car for a few season. Then of course, they lose their dominant car and suddenly look much the same as any other fast driver.
Nick T.
19th September 2024, 2:02
+1
You get the truest picture of a driver’s talent level when they drive crap, middling and great cars rather than just great machinery. Still, it’s clear Max belongs in that elite tier 1 category of F1 drivers to which only about 6-7 drivers over the last 40 years belong to.
Mayrton
19th September 2024, 13:23
Being amongst the great talk about Max is hardly due to his dominant season. It was mainly what he showed ramping up towards 2021. Everyone knows you can easily win in the most dominant car. We’ve had lots of examples.
Tomcat173 (@tomcat173)
18th September 2024, 11:48
Wait, so the RB20 is so marginal on weight? Things must be getting really desperate at Red Bull if they’re taking those steps to minimise weight, and maximise their performance.
notagrumpyfan
18th September 2024, 12:20
Most cars are not necessarily ´marginal on weight´, but any gramme saved higher up can be added as balance in the low corners to improve stability.
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
19th September 2024, 11:20
According to Auto, Motor und Sport the new livery would add one kg to the car.
That’s not that much in terms of car balance I’d assume. At least there weren’t no such concerns the last time they used a special livery. But in their current situation they either want to squeeze every ounce of performance out of the car or maybe by reverting back to older specifications their car indeed got heavier and close to / over the weight limit.
Dan Rooke (@geekzilla9000)
18th September 2024, 11:56
I’d be a bit miffed if I’d won the competition to have my livery used on the car. I hope they get something else, maybe Aston Martin can use them next year.
Mr B
19th September 2024, 7:39
I’m sure the winners will be compensated in some other way but it is a bit of a shame. I’ve found the fan designed one off liveries to be refreshing and interesting over the years. And what a wonderful thing for the competition winner to see their design under the Singapore lights being watched by millions around the world.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
18th September 2024, 12:28
Too bad, that livery looked nice.
Scotty (@rockonscotty)
18th September 2024, 12:37
I wonder how much they will have to pay for breaking sponsor contracts and if it will go against the cap.
notagrumpyfan
18th September 2024, 13:02
It was a competition rather than a ‘sponsor contract’; a multi-pack Red Bull will probably do as compensation, or whatever is defined in the competition rules.
Also marketing expenditure is exempt from the cost cap.
BC
18th September 2024, 13:21
I absolutely hate weight getting in the way of interesting liveries, which are so much a part of F1 history and fun IMO. The original silver Arrows thing was cool, but I think it’s high time for the FIA to figure out some way of getting around weight vs. paint. Maybe a minimum weight/area of paint on a car?
Nick T.
18th September 2024, 14:47
Yup. It’s yet another area where zero common sense is being applied. It’s an issue that could literally be fixed in a five minute FIA update that mandated a minimum total weight in paint and stickers for the livery.
Nick T.
18th September 2024, 14:47
zero*
lol
notagrumpyfan
18th September 2024, 15:00
More rules?
Imagine Jo Bauer peeling off and weighing the decals after each race, or disqualifying Russell based on paint weight.
Indeed ‘zero common sense’ :P
anon
18th September 2024, 15:06
Certainly seems ironic that posters who usually complain about there being too many regulations on more important factors are asking for additional regulations on something that is trivial by comparison.
Nick T.
19th September 2024, 2:09
Get real. You people are acting like this is akin to regulating / testing wing flex levels or that this “rule” (it’s nearly a stretch to even label it as such) would have literally any effect on anything besides how the cars look. Furthermore, equating this suggestion with the spiraling investigations for nonsense like poking your front wing in the pit lane or which side of a bollard a car went around is just silly.
notagrumpyfan
19th September 2024, 7:52
Get out of here; another rule?
You person are proposing in addition that this ‘rule’ should be less stringently controlled than the rules without single quotation marks. :P
Osnola
18th September 2024, 19:30
The rulebook can use another volume when all these details are mandatory.
Stop asking for more rules.
Peyton
19th September 2024, 20:37
I’m sure they would do this but it is impossible to weigh the car without paint after the race.
Grapmg
18th September 2024, 18:33
Maybe they can give it to MB they tend to be underweight.