Red Bull has launched the car that will defend both the drivers' and constructors' titles - the RB8 - online.
Adrian Newey's latest design incorporates the stepped nose seen on many other 2012 cars, meaning McLaren is currently the only team not to go down that route. Newey confirmed that despite the visually different nose, the RB8 is still an evolution of the previous car but he was unaware how much the exhaust-blown diffuser ban would impact on its relative performance.
"It's the fourth evolution of the RB5 this year, so obviously the pressure is to try and stay there if we possibly can," Newey said. "It's a difficult task, we have lost the exhaust technology with the restriction exhaust outlet position that we were able to develop and perhaps be ahead of the pack on in the last couple of years, that led to a big re think over the winter. Whether that will affect us more than other people is difficult to know of course.
"We designed the RB7, last year's car, around that exhaust position and were probably the only people to do so, so it may be that we've lost more than other people through that. Only time will tell, it will be good to get out to do some testing and to see where we get to."
Team principal Christian Horner added that the car build had gone "fantastically well" and that the team was fully prepared for the start of testing.
"This year's car build has gone fantastically well, and I think it's the epitome of continuity, continuity across all areas. I think we've designed and built this car in a record amount of time, in a ridiculously short amount of time. Adrian's never famous for his drawings being early, but the design team, the production teams, all the associated departments that go into producing these cars, have delivered, and delivered in a fantastic way. We've hit our target of being at the first test so, despite the snow over the latter part of this week, I think we're in great shape for the first test."
ESPNF1
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