Red Bull Racing launches the RB9 to defend F1 titles

The launch of Infiniti Red Bull Racing's 2013 car, the RB9, not only marked the unveiling of the car with which the team will defend its Formula One Drivers' and Constructors' titles, but it also ushered in a new era for the team. The car features a striking new livery that reflects the strengthened relationship between Red Bull Racing and premium automotive brand Infiniti.

The longest established team driver combination on the grid this 2013 season Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were on hand at the team's UK base at Milton Keynes to give the world its first glimpse of the new car and livery, which integrates Infiniti's purple-hued branding with the team's existing racing colors.

Despite the largely unchanged nature of the technical regulations for 2013 the team continued the development of last year's car to come up with the RB9.

“RB9 is an evolutionary car,” he added. “Probably the most significant change is not the regulations, but the new Pirelli tires. We had a quick test with those in practice ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix but in truth we didn’t learn a lot because of the conditions. Pirelli have supplied us data about how the new tires behave but past experience tells us that it’s only when we go testing that we really find out.” stated chief technical officer Adrian Newey

The team will be heading for southern Spain to continue with the testing of the RB9 at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit on Tuesday. Mark will give the car its track debut, driving on Tues 5 and Wed 6 February, with Sebastian taking over for the final two days, on Thurs 7 and Fri 8 February.

The unveiling was an opportunity for Infiniti to reveal that not only has it agreed a four-year deal to become the team's title partner, as announced in November 2012, but also that it will become the exclusive Vehicle Performance Partner of the team.