Red Bull Cancels Singapore And Austin Addition Amid Performance Struggles

Saajan Jogia | Sep 18, 2024

May 4, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) during F1 qualifying for Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Red Bull invited fans to vote for their favorite RB20 F1 car livery for the Singapore and United States Grands Prix, with the winning design set to appear at those events. However, in a recent statement, Red Bull announced that the custom livery will not be run on the RB20, citing the added weight, which could compromise the car's performance during race weekends.

Red Bull is known for sporting its fan-chosen custom livery it sports every year on certain race weekends. This year's British Grand Prix saw the maximum number of votes for the striking livery with red highlights on display at Silverstone.

The cars of both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were to be seen in a new avatar at the upcoming races in Singapore and Austin. However, according to a post on social media, when Red Bull reached the testing phase of what the designs could look like, the team found that the paint used for the special livery added "undue" weight to the RB20.

In an effort to squeeze every millisecond out of the car, especially after McLaren took the lead from Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship, Red Bull decided to "prioritize" making the car "as competitive as possible for the remainder of the 2024 season." Consequently, the team decided that it would not run the custom livery in Singapore and Austin. The statement read:

"Thank you so much for entering the REBL CUSTMS Livery Competition. Once again, the designs showed ingenuity and a progressive thinking that has come to be the benchmark, as our fan-designed livery campaigns have evolved over the past two years.

"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. As I'm sure you can imagine, 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 REBL CUSTMS liveries on the RB20 at the Singapore and United States GPs."

The full statement from @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/Czb0Agj32g

— FormulaNerds 🤓🏁 (@Formula_Nerds) September 17, 2024

Red Bull has a challenging task of not only reclaiming the lead in the Constructors' Championship from McLaren but also defending Max Verstappen's position in the Drivers' Standings, who maintains a 59-point lead over Lando Norris. However, with the team still struggling to resolve handling issues on the RB20, it is uncertain when or how it will return to its top form.