The first race of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship is less than a month away, and teams are starting to reveal their contenders for the new season.
The latest is RB, officially Visa Cash App RB, the Red Bull feeder team formerly known as AlphaTauri. Its contender is called the VCARB 01, and it was shown for the first time late on Thursday in Las Vegas.
The car adopts a blue and white livery dotted with some red accents, a look that's reminiscent of some of the liveries the team used when it competed as Toro Rosso, the name the team used before switching to AlphaTauri.
Drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda were present during the reveal. They were joined by new Team Principal Laurent Mekies, who replaced retiring veteran Franz Tost.
Daniel Ricciardo (left) and Yuki Tsunoda
Also present was Amna Al Qubaisi, who will carry the team's colors this year in F1 Academy, an all-female race series serving as a driver development program for young female racers. Ken Block's daughter, Lia Block, is also set to compete in the series this year.
The 2024 F1 cars follow most of the same design rules as the cars that competed last year. A minor change is the addition of an additional scoop to help keep the cockpit cool in hot races like those in West Asia.
The cars feature carbon-fiber composite honeycomb structures for the chassis, and hybrid power units combining a turbocharged 1.6-liter V-6 and two motor-generators, one on the driveline and another integrated with the turbo. Both RB and Red Bull will use a Honda-developed power unit.
Pre-season testing will run Feb. 21-23 at the Bahrain International Circuit before the first race of the season, the Bahrain Grand Prix, takes place at the same location on March 2. This year's season will feature a record 24 races, including three in the U.S.
