03 February 2023 , 17:33
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Christian Horner is expecting "an incredible season" this year and warned that Red Bull's rivals "could make big progress".
Horner's team go into the season as defending champions and, naturally, that will make them the bookies' favourites to go on to further success in 2023. But it remains to be seen how competitive their RB19 car will be compared to their title-winner from last year.
Mercedes and Ferrari were both unable to sustain a meaningful challenge to Red Bull's dominance. But, as Horner has warned, it doesn't mean that will be the case again this year with plenty of scope for their rivals to have strengthened.
"It’s going to be an incredible season," he said at Red Bull's launch event in New York on Friday. "Our rivals, for sure, haven’t stood still, so we're expecting Ferrari to be competitive, Mercedes are going to be there. "There are also some other teams that could make big progress as well.
"This time of year, it's all a big unknown and it's a question of focusing on ourselves, doing the best that we can, and then in Bahrain in a couple of week's time we'll get to see everybody’s car and we'll realise have we missed something, have we not?
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"Then we'll set off on this 23-race journey from March to November. There are going to be highs and lows along the way, I'm sure, but we're in a good place and looking to carry on that momentum from last year."
Red Bull showed off their RB19 car livery on Friday (Red Bull Content Pool)While it won't be relevant to the coming season, the launch event also saw the official announcement of Red Bull's new link-up with the Ford Motor Company. The partnership will begin from the 2026 season, when new engine regulations are due to come into force.
"To become a Red Bull-Ford engine and power unit is incredibly exciting," Horner said on stage. "For us, having the ability to draw on your experience, EV knowledge and depth of resource is tremendously exciting... It was a very easy deal to put together because the desire was there from both sides."
On the RB19 car, which was also unveiled on Friday, the team boss added: "There are some subtle aerodynamic changes that affect all of the teams, and so harnessing and trying to optimise those is one of the challenges. The tyres are slightly different this year as well, within the new regulations, but RB19 draws on all the strengths of our most successful ever car."