FORMULA 1

HAAS FORMULA 1 TEAM HAS BECOME THE FIRST TO REVEAL IMAGES OF ITS 2019 CAR, UNVEILING A NEW BLACK-AND-GOLD LIVERY TO REFLECT ITS NEW TITLE SPONSOR.

Haas has been formally renamed the Rich Energy Haas F1 team for this season in deference to the British-based energy drink company it struck a deal with late last year.

The team unveiled its new livery at a launch event in London on Thursday, using a 2018 show car, but released the first pictures of its new VF-19 online at the same time.

Intricate details of the car are hard to determine because of the mostly-black livery and the dark background in the images.

However, a simplified front wing – that contains five elements, is 200mm wider and 20mm higher – and rear wing – 20mm higher and 100mm wider – are immediately recognisable.

The physical version of Haas’s 2019 car will not be seen until the morning of the first pre-season test at Barcelona next Monday.

“This is the time of the season when you hope you’ve got designs right and you can be competitive straight away,” said Haas.

“The new car looks distinctive, not only in terms of its color scheme, but also with the new regulations in play.

“Hopefully those design changes brought in for 2019 will improve the racing on-track, and more importantly give us a shot at making more of an impact at each grand prix.”