F1 Monaco Grand Prix live updates: Follow news from today’s race with Lando Norris on pole

Last July, I had the chance to visit Goodwood to see the global unveiling of the Red Bull RB17, its new hypercar designed by Adrian Newey which is targeting the levels of performance provided by an F1 car.

Worth a cool $7.7 million and with only 50 being made, the project is one of the most ambitious and exciting in the automotive world in the coming months and years.

Since then, Newey has left Red Bull, and is on-site with Aston Martin for the first time this weekend in Monaco. But that hasn’t hindered plans with the RB17, with a prototype version of the car being displayed on the Red Bull energy station in Monaco this week.

I caught up with Rob Gray, the technical director of the RB17, earlier this week, who said there was a lot of work prior to Newey’s departure to ensure all the exterior surfaces, both aerodynamic and stylistic, had been signed off.

All the configurations for the car remain the same, with a 4.5 liter V10 engine that can hit 15,000rpm, capable of 1,200 bhp — an absolute beast, all being constructed on the Red Bull F1 team campus in Milton Keynes.

Red Bull did plan to give the car its on-track debut this summer, but Gray said there was now a “strong aim” to do a first shakedown in the autumn, albeit without firmly committing to a set date.

Gray said Red Bull was “getting close” to selling out the run of 50 cars. “We’ve certainly sold enough that the project’s fully viable and fully signed off by HQ, so that’s good,” he said, noting there were some “big-name admirers.”

One buyer apparently was very eager for their car to be in white, which was showcased on the prototype in Monaco. “I told him we’d done this one just for him and he’s very, very pleased,” Gray said.

Although the car is yet to hit the real-world track, there is still a lot of testing ongoing in the simulator, which has even offered some lap times quicker than the F1 cars. “But that’s in the virtual world,” Gray said. “The proof of the pudding is when we hit the track. But at the moment it’s pretty good.”