Everything matters in Formula 1, including paint. That’s why Red Bull Racing has made a drastic decision regarding fan-designed liveries for the Singapore and United States Grands Prix.
The Austrian Formula 1 team has decided not to use them in these races because the paint used for these liveries makes the RB20 too heavy, while it seeks to shave off every last hundredth of a second to counter McLaren and Ferrari in the championships.
Earlier this season, Red Bull announced a competition where fans could submit their own designs for a special livery. At Silverstone, the team of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez already ran a special livery (pictured), and it was planned to do the same in Singapore and Austin. However, the team was forced to abandon those plans.
“Unfortunately, when we got to the testing stage of what some of the designs might look like in real life on the RB20, we found that the paint used to create these bespoke liveries, some of them full-body, added an unintended and excessive amount of weight to the RB20 body. As you can imagine, any additional weight compromises performance,” explains Red Bull Racing in a press release.
“The team continues to prioritise making this car as competitive as possible for the remainder of the 2024 season. Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that we have to let you know that the team has taken the decision not to run the special liveries on the RB20 at the Singapore and United States Grands Prix.”
