Red Bull reveals its 2018 Formula 1 car

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The new challenger, the RB14, will be piloted by Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, who combined for three race wins with its predecessor last year.

Fitted with the mandatory halo cockpit protection device, the car has been unveiled with a striking blue camouflage-style livery instead of the familiar red and dark blue concept the team had used for the past two seasons.

However, Red Bull has made it clear the livery is "special edition", and that the paint job that will be used in race trim will only break cover at pre-season testing in Catalunya.

Despite that, the blue paint scheme should make it to the track after all, as it appears likely be used by Daniel Ricciardo in a filming session at British GP venue Silverstone.

British car manufacturer Aston Martin has prominent branding on the camo livery, and the RB14's rear wing in particular. The marque will serve as Red Bull's title sponsor in 2018, having decided to step up its involvement with the F1 outfit.

The Milton Keynes outfit has customarily left its car launch as late as possible before the start of winter testing, but eschewed that tradition this year with a February 19 reveal.

It is the third team on the grid to show off its new design, after Haas and Williams.

"The pattern of the last few years has been to launch 'aggressively late'," Red Bull's announcement read. "This has allowed the design department the maximum amount of time to add goodness to the car before the cut-off point at which the design is frozen and a launch car produced.

"It's been not uncommon to have the car finished, fired up for the first time and shipped to Spain for the start of testing all on the same day.

"It serves a purpose – but you wouldn't do it if you didn't have to, and this year we didn't have to.

"It's preferable to finish the car early and deal with any snags now, when the car is on a track a short drive from the factory, rather than using up one of our eight ultra-precious test days doing the same at the Circuit de Catalunya."

The RB14 will be powered a Renault V6 turbo hybrid, which will remain branded as TAG Heuer for a third straight season.

It is likely to be the last Red Bull F1 car carrying a Renault engine, as the French manufacturer is set to pull out of its long-time engine supply deal with the Austrian outfit at the end of the year.