Max Verstappen request granted? Updated Red Bull logo sparks RB22 livery rumours

Max Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing team has unveiled an updated team logo ahead of the F1 2026 season.

It comes a day after long-term rival Mercedes marked the start of the new year by revealing its new identity.

Red Bull reveals new logo for F1 2026 season as Ford era begins

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Red Bull ended last season without a title for the first time since 2020 as the team finished third in the constructors’ standings behind Mercedes and runaway champions McLaren.

Max Verstappen narrowly missed out on retaining the drivers’ championship, falling just two points short of Lando Norris who secured his maiden crown at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

The conclusion of the 2025 season marked the end of Red Bull’s highly successful relationship with Honda, which is starting a new technical partnership with the Aston Martin team from F1 2026.

Honda’s exit will see Red Bull produce its own engines for the first time this year via its newly established Powertrains division, working in collaboration with US manufacturer Ford.

As reported by PlanetF1.com, Mercedes began 2026 by revealing an updated team logo on Thursday.

And Red Bull has now followed suit by unveiling its own new look ahead of the new season.

In a post to social media, Red Bull revealed its updated logo for 2026 with the accompanying caption: “What’s new, 2026?”

Although the team logo remains largely similar, one notable change is that the Milton Keynes outfit has brought back the white outline surrounding its ‘Red Bull’ lettering for the first time since the 2015 season.

The change has sparked speculation among fans that Red Bull could move away from the matte-blue livery in place since 2016, which saw the words ‘Red Bull’ appear in a dayglo-red colour.

One fan called for the team to revert to the colour scheme in place during Sebastian Vettel’s years of dominance, commenting: “Hopefully we will see this liverly [sic] back with Ford.”

Another added: “Oh the early 2010s design is returning for sure.”

As first reported by PlanetF1.com in October, Red Bull and Racing Bulls are to officially reveal their F1 2026 liveries at a Ford season-launch event in Detroit on January 15.

Verstappen, who will be partnered by new recruit Isack Hadjar in 2026, previously called for Red Bull to rethink its livery at the end of his fourth title-winning season in 2024.

Appearing on the team’s in-house Talking Bull podcast, he suggested that Red Bull should return to the “shiny” colour schemes used during Vettel’s era.

He said ahead of the launch of the team’s 2025 car: “The livery, I hope it’s a bit different.

“I was actually talking about it today, I actually really like these cars as well [pointing at older Red Bulls behind him] with the shiny colour.

“We’ve had so many matte-blue cars, but I think sometimes it’s just nice to spice it up a little bit.”

Little is known about the design of the Red Bull RB22 car ahead of the new season.

Reports last month claimed that RBPT-Ford is one of two engine manufacturers, along with Mercedes, to have identified a loophole in the new engine regulations.

Christian Horner, the former Red Bull team principal, had previously claimed that it would be “embarrassing” for F1’s established manufacturers if RBPT-Ford were to produce a better engine at the first time of asking in F1 2026.

Horner’s comments were echoed by his successor, Laurent Mekies, who acknowledged that “it would be silly” to expect Red Bull to match the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari from the off.

As reported by PlanetF1.com, rumours have indicated that the RB22 will feature a pushrod suspension at the front and rear.

A double pushrod suspension, which is also reportedly being pursued by Ferrari, is thought to bring a number of benefits under the new F1 2026 rules, including with the packaging of the new power unit.

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