Red Bull’s 2022 car has reportedly failed front crash test, delaying its launch

Red Bull is one of the few teams, and the only top team, that is yet to announce a launch date for its 2022 car, despite pre-season testing drawing ever closer. The reason for this delay might be due to snags in the car’s homologation process.

According to a report by Motorsport Italia, the Red Bull RB18 has reportedly failed the front crash test, thereby failing the homologation process. The report quotes “insider sources” within Milton Keynes and states the following:

“At Cranfield, where the British teams converge for dynamic tests, Red Bull would have registered a failure in the front of the car that would force Milton Keynes’s team to review the ability to absorb energy from the nose and the chassis in the front.”

Furthermore, the report claims that the team is not “unfazed” by the delay, pointing to the Austrian outfit's cars from previous seasons also having a history of failing crash tests. The team’s legendary technical lead, Adrian Newey, has a reputation for extreme designs that push the envelope. The report suggests that crash test failure might be a small hindrance, which the team could easily fix.

Interestingly, the report has claimed that Newey’s new design takes ground-effect to the extreme. Given that 2022 cars are heavily reliant on the phenomenon to produce downforce, the radical design has reportedly made the RB18 already faster than last season’s RB16B.

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Mercedes reportedly aren’t faring any better than Red Bull, despite already announcing their launch date

The Mercedes W13 has reportedly also failed the FIA crash test, owing to an “extreme” underbody downforce solution. According to a new report by Motorsport Italia, the Silver Arrows have switched to a “plan B” after their chassis failed the FIA homologation process.

Unlike the RB18, however – which failed the frontal crash impact test — the Mercedes has reportedly failed the lateral test. This means the reigning constructors' champions might be in more trouble compared to their Austrian rivals.

The report further states that the team might be inclined to delay the already announced launch on February 18 to a future date, if the “plan B” doesn’t come to fruition on time.