Overview
The colour of the Red Bull car has quite comically never been red. It has been dark blue for many years now.
However, the Turkish GP will see two white cars produced by the Milton-Keynes outfit. Those are very much Red Bulls (even though they are not red again), and will be on the track to honour Honda, their engine partner this season.
Red Bull reveals striking livery at the Turkish GP
Honda will be leaving F1 at the end of this season. They will be leaving behind an illustrious tenure in the sport, assisting some top teams over the many years they have been in the sport. The latest one has been this Red Bull team.
With the superb Honda engines powering their cars, Red Bull have been very impressive this season. They are challenging for both championships, and have a strong chance at victory. The association has been nothing short of amazing, whether they pull it off or not.
To honour their partners and their departure from the sport, Red Bull will pay tribute to Honda with an exquisite livery on both their cars. These will be unveiled at the Turkish GP, and their drivers will race in those cars.
The cars will be snow white in colour, with Red Bull and Honda logos decorating it throughout. The images were released recently, and they look nothing short of gorgeous. It is one of the best liveries that have been unveiled this season, and only McLaren’s Gulf livery seems up there on the aesthetics spectrum.
Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez will drive these white cars throughout the entire weekend, from Friday to Sunday. Team Principal Christian Horner took the opportunity to pay tribute to the manufacturer and their fans, and said that the team treasures their relationship.
“We had all been looking forward to giving Honda’s Japanese fans a chance to celebrate our extremely successful relationship in Formula One, on home soil at Suzuka,” he said.
“With the race falling victim to the pandemic, we just couldn’t let the weekend pass without paying tribute to Honda and its amazing home fans by bringing a little bit of its heritage to Istanbul.
“The livery chosen for our cars pays homage to Honda’s remarkable F1 journey and hopefully we can give fans another victory in those legendary colours this weekend,” he concluded.
The new Red Bull car is the same as Richie Ginther won with in 1965
Red Bull’s livery honouring Honda is not just a random colour scheme. It has a rich story behind it, and it signifies an era of excellence for Honda.
The livery is a homage to the RA272, the car which won Honda’s very first F1 race in 1965. Behind the wheel that day was Richie Ginther, the driver who created history and ushered in an era for the Japanese automobile giant in F1.
Ginther drove a fabulous race at the 1965 Mexican GP to take victory in the Honda RA272. It was his first and only race win in F1, and a commanding one at that. He led every single lap out of the 65 the race offered, and coasted home to victory to write his name into the history books.
Honda announced itself to the racing world that day with a strategic masterclass that ensured their victory. Their extensive testing and preparation proved to be the difference between them and the rest of the grid.
Reliability issues meant drivers like Graham Hill and Jim Clark retired due to engine problems, while Jackie Stewart had to abandon his race due to a clutch issue.
This meant that the opportunity opened up for Ginther like Moses parted the sea. He took it with both hands, and crossed the line to create history for Honda.
That achievement will be honoured by Red Bull at the Turkish GP weekend. Verstappen and Perez’s cars will sport the homage livery as a final salute to Honda and their achievements in the sport. They will look to do what Ginther did all those years ago, and win for Honda once again.
The Turkish GP will be held as the Japanese had been cancelled
It will be a bittersweet feeling for Honda to see the livery. They will no doubt feel honoured and satisfied to see the tribute. However, what would have made it even sweeter was showing it off to their home fans in Japan.
The tribute was supposed to be revealed at the Japanese GP, in front of the fans at the Suzuka Circuit. Unfortunately, the race was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is a really harsh series of events for Honda and Red Bull. Honda’s fans would have loved to see the celebration of their team and everything they have accomplished in F1. It just wasn’t meant to be.
The Turkish GP has been the replacement for the cancelled race in Japan. It will be hosted at Istanbul Park. It is also a pretty significant race, and one we haven’t seen much of compared to a Monaco or a Monza.
Last season saw one of the wildest races in F1 history happen in Turkey. A wet banger saw several slips, position changes and an upset of a podium. Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez took P3 and P2 respectively in a race for the ages.
However, the race is remembered for Lewis Hamilton’s clinching of his seventh world title. He drove an astonishing race from a pit stop behind to a pit stop ahead. He won the race in extraordinary fashion, and created more history.
History seems to be the key word. This time, the history lesson will focus on Honda. The livery is the teacher, and it will be an entertaining and enriching session.
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