Red Bull and its fans have a lot to look forward to heading into this weekend’s Japanese GP. For starters, the team’s lineup has changed again — Liam Lawson has been demoted to Racing Bulls, and Yuki Tsunoda is set to make his Red Bull debut in front of his home fans. But that’s not just it.
There’s another element — a nostalgic throwback — that fans have been excitedly anticipating. As a tribute to Honda, their long-time sponsors and engine partners, Red Bull has unveiled a special all-white livery for the RB21, to be used through the weekend at Suzuka.
This marks the first time Red Bull will sport an all-white car since the 2021 Turkish GP. That livery color scheme was widely popular among fans.
However, while the majority of the fans loved the new-look RB21, a few keen-eyed enthusiasts have noticed something off with the design.
A fan on Reddit shared a close-up of the RB21’s nose, highlighting many key details. That included the Honda logo, the RBR logo, and a special commemorative emblem celebrating Honda’s first F1 victory with the RA272 in 1965.
However, upon closer inspection, it’s clear that the RBR logo isn’t aligned with Honda’s — an odd oversight on an otherwise meticulously designed livery.
Fans quickly swarmed the post, sharing hilarious reactions and poking fun at Red Bull’s design team for missing this detail. One user wrote, “Newey would have noticed this.” Well, for sure Adrian Newey, who has left Red Bull, would have noticed it given his attention to detail.
Jokes apart, is Red Bull missing the car designer as they struggle to match the performance of the frontrunners this season?
Newey-designed cars won eight drivers’ championships (four each by Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen) and six constructors’ crowns for Red Bull. The legendary aerodynamicist has joined Aston Martin — the very team Honda will partner with starting in 2026.
Here we go again. The RBR badge is off-center on the new Red Bull white Japanese GP livery. An homage to Mercedes?
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Meanwhile, other fans took the joke on the logo misalignment to the next level by linking the RB21’s inherent performance issues to the misaligned logo. One fan quipped, “Car balance absolutely destroyed,” while another responded, “Sloppy decal symmetry work is the real reason Lawson and Perez struggled.”
Tsunoda’s Red Bull debut has also been a major talking point, but this design faux pas gave fans another reason to poke fun at the #22 driver. The user who posted the original picture jokingly commented, “Yuki is gonna get a grid penalty for this.”
Hopefully, for the hometown hero, the race will be remembered for more than just this design blunder.
