Red Bull launch their 2015 car; the RB11 in a camouflaged livery

This morning, the Infiniti Red Bull Racing Team launched the RB11 with a striking camouflaged livery ahead of the first Jerez test on Sunday morning.

The team launched the car in the minutes before the test commenced in Spain, with the new livery designed especially for pre-season testing. It is the first time in five seasons Red Bull starts a season without a reigning world champion at the helm, with the RB11 carrying the hopes of Daniel Ricciardo and new arrival Daniil Kvyat this season.

The Renault-powered car features a notably lower new nose, similar to that sported by Mercedes in 2014, but the most obvious change at first glance is the testing livery it carries, with many updates hidden under the black and white camouflage design.

My first thoughts of the RB11 are that I really do not like the launch livery at all. I find it a bit weird if I'm honest and I actually recalled in horror seeing the first pictures of the car this morning while eating my breakfast! But I understand why Red Bull have decided to do this in order to keep their updates hidden from the press until the first race of the season but I believe they could have used a better colour scheme than the one that they have for the Jerez test this weekend.

In an interview at the launch of the RB11, Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey believes that the design of the RB11 has gained a lot from last season. Newey stated the following:- ​
'The design of the RB11 has been very much about understanding what we learned from last season, which was a big regulation change as far as the power unit is concerned and the packaging that goes with that and setting about optimising the car from those lessons.'

From looking at the pictures of the RB11 again after hearing what Newey has said about the car today at the launch, it is clear that the car still has the “Newey touch” so to speak. The RB11 does appear to have evolved from last season as we would expect it to. Once again, the car is beautifully packaged as tight as the technical regulations permit and that is a trademark of Newey; who pushes to the limit in order to get the best performance out of the car on the circuit.

While Red Bull suffered from a lack of power throughout 2014 after early problems for engine partner Renault, in his own interview at the launch of the RB11 this morning, Red Bull boss Christian Horner is certain that improvements have been made this season as a result. Horner stated the following:-

'The relationship with Renault is a lot closer now. Red Bull is the only partner for Renault now, through ourselves and Toro Rosso, and that focus from Renault together with a close involvement with our design team is yielding good results and a far closer integration between the power unit and the chassis side. Working in unison with Renault we can really make some big steps forward this year.'

It is clear that Horner is happy for the Red Bull team to continue its partnership with Renault and is confident that the partnership will prove to be fruitful after a disappointing year last season. With the Red Bull team being the only partner for Renault (alongside Toro Rosso of course!), both parties are able to work closely together and to each other's benefit in order to be successful on the circuit and get the best out of each other too.

Horner does believe that Renault have made vital improvements to their power unit and its performance for this season as a result of last year and feel that they could make the steps forward that both parties need this season without a shadow of a doubt.

This season has saw Daniel Ricciardo has been retained by the team after an excellent 2014 campaign, while Daniil Kyvat steps up from Toro Rosso to partner the Australian, replacing the Ferrari-bound Sebastian Vettel. Further on in his interview this morning, Horner believes that their driver line this season is very exciting. Horner added the following:-

'It's an exciting and dynamic line-up. We know the quality of Daniel following his performances last year and in Daniil we have an outstanding talent. The speed, commitment and determination he demonstrated were all the qualities we're looking for.

'We've already seen what Daniel is capable of and we firmly believe that Dany has all the same attributes. They're young, hungry, they're incredibly quick and I think they are going to push each other very hard throughout the year.'

It would be hard not to disagree with Horner here. I believe that the driver line up of Ricciardo and Kvyat not only brings experience and leadership in the team with Ricciardo but with Kvyat, it also brings youth, promise and also talent (Ricciardo included!). As Horner points out, we know just how talented Ricciardo is after winning three races last season in his first year with the team and outperforming his former team mate Sebastian Vettel and Kvyat has the potential to be just as good as Ricciardo after some impressive performances in his debut season in the sport with Toro Rosso last season.

It would seem that Horner is extremely happy with the driver line up for this season and what it brings to the Red Bull team. It appears to me that Horner believes that both drivers will be able to push each other on the track while also helping to develop and further improve the RB11 as they gain more mileage and experience with the car during pre-season testing in preparation for the first Grand Prix of the year in Melbourne next March.

And this can only be a good thing for the team as they hope that with the development and improvements made to the RB11 alongside the improvements made by Renault that Ricciardo and Kvyat will be able to deliver on the track consistently and also competitively as possible.

Overall, even though I absolutely do not like the launch livery of the RB11 (which will be changed before the season starts), Red Bull are hoping that the RB11 alongside the improvements made by Renault will get them back to the front of the grid and challenging for the championship once again this season.

There is no doubt that the RB11 is certainly an Adrian Newey designed car despite him having stepped down from his role within the team and that the team will improve and develop the car throughout the course of the year to close the gap down to their rivals.

And for me, they simply have to close that gap down as much as possible. Even though I believe Renault have made steps forward and have learnt their lessons from the previous season, Mercedes and Williams for example will have also improved over the winter and the gap may get bigger as a result.

Let us remember also that Red Bull has everything at their disposal to develop and improve the car throughout the year and they shouldn't be discounted despite losing their titles last season to the Mercedes team and finishing in second place in the Constructors Championship. But with Ricciardo and Kvyat racing for the team this season, you can be sure that both drivers will be doing everything they can to ensure that they are fighting for podiums and victories this season, while also pushing each other to get the best out of themselves as drivers too.

But the big question on everyone's minds is; has Renault given Red Bull everything they need in their power unit to be at the front of the grid in 2015? Red Bull certainly can produce a car that is good enough, but will Renault let them down again with their power unit?

Let's hope not and we see Ricciardo and Kvyat being able to challenge the Mercedes team at the front of the grid in 2015 at the first race of the season in Melbourne next month.

Sarah Jones