Purple Bull’s 2026 livery was revealed precisely the way you’d count on from the vitality drink model: by an adrenaline-spiked feat of aerobatics. Czech aerobatic specialist and 2018 Purple Bull Air Race world champion Martin Šonka used a low cobra manoeuvre to tear the quilt of the RB22 present automobile forward of its Detroit launch.
Alongside the reveal of the livery, Purple Bull kicked off the season in type at Michigan Central Station with the squad leaning into the reset that is coming to Components 1 this yr. These new laws will coincide with a brand new works energy unit for Purple Bull with Ford, whereas the livery pays tribute to the group’s historical past.
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However for Šonka, the margin for error was as tight as a race at Monaco due to the truth that his airplane’s tail needed to be low sufficient to tear off the quilt whereas staying away from the runway and automobile.
Preparations started months earlier, with the precise filming of the stunt going down in November of final yr at Airport Jindřichův Hradec, nicely earlier than the current reveal.
The damaging choreography was constructed up slowly because the pilot turned extra skilled with the motion. It started with the cobra motion in isolation, constructing as much as a small fabric getting used with out the automobile, then a big sheet, and solely then was the automobile launched.
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To offer the pilot an additional set of eyes, a LiDAR-based system was added to offer audio and visible cues on floor clearance.
Martin Sonka forward of the disclosing of the brand new Oracle Purple Bull Racing livery in Jindřichův Hradec, Czech Republic on twenty eighth November, 2025.
Martin Sonka forward of the disclosing of the brand new Oracle Purple Bull Racing livery in Jindřichův Hradec, Czech Republic on twenty eighth November, 2025.
However the minimal altitude was the final of their worries. A hazard introduced itself in how the sheet can be launched when pulled from over the automobile. If it obtained trapped on a wing or mirror, then it may finish in tears. So a launch mechanism needed to be constructed to deal with the fabric being pulled off, accelerating from stationary to roughly 150-200km/h in beneath a second.
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Filming day finally arrived with temperatures reaching lows of -3C. It was chilly within the unheated airplane and, as a result of form of the cover, Šonka overpassed the automobile roughly 200 metres earlier than initiating the cobra.
“Flying that low at that pace appears like threading a needle blind,” he stated. “200 km/h, barely 1.5 metres above the bottom. The margin for propeller clearance was minimal.”
The automobile was launched to crowds in Motor Metropolis, that includes a heritage white base with a jacquard blue sample in gloss that can be seen on the group equipment.
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“2026 marks the beginning of a brand new and important period for Components One and for Purple Bull,” group principal Laurent Mekies stated. “We wished our livery to replicate this, whereas additionally giving a nod to Purple Bull Racing’s beginnings.”
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