Latest Episode | Cut To The Race Podcast
Oracle Red Bull Racing have launched their 2024 car, the RB20, which the team hopes will help defend both Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships in the upcoming season.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit enters its 20th year in Formula 1, as indicated by the name of their latest design. Their story began with the RB1 back in 2005, with periods of domination over their competition occurring on numerous occasions.
In fact, Red Bull are currently in one of those periods. Their star driver, 26-year-old Dutchman Max Verstappen, romped to his third successive Drivers’ Championship in 2023 and handed the team a second Constructors’ crown in a row.
But many expect rival teams including Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari to close the gap to Red Bull in 2024, the latter of whom have one eye on 2026 when significant rule changes and a landmark engine supply partnership with Ford Motor Company come into effect.
The Austrian outfit have kept their new 2024 design a secret longer than the others; the question is what will we see when the covers are removed from the RB20?
What to expect
The RB20 was spotted out on a wet Silverstone Circuit ahead of the official launch (Image Credit: @PaulBridgen on X)Red Bull have always stuck to a similar livery design throughout their two decades-long history in F1, excluding the occasional one-off paintjobs used for certain Grands Prix in previous years.
A few photos of the Red Bull RB20 were shown on social media ahead of the official launch at 19:30 GMT on February 15.
First of all, a handful of images and videos of the car slithering its way around a damp Silverstone racetrack emerged a couple of days ago. This was followed by snaps of the RB20 indoors with key figures of the team posing for pictures, hours before the launch event.
It’s no surprise to see the car look not too dissimilar to last year’s RB19, both purely aesthetically and from a technological standpoint considering their recent runaway performance. But are there any major changes that we can draw from a first look at Red Bull’s 20th F1 car?
RB20 in more detail
A quick glance and the RB20 bears a strong resemblance to rival Mercedes’ W14 used in the previous campaign. Both cars feature an aggressively down sloping sidepod shape and a bulbous engine cover on top of it. The deep gullies underneath each inlet remain.
The official launch featured a show car; A source from the team says we can expect the car to be shaped differently when Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez rock up on track in a competitive setting in under a month’s time.
Horner on 2024 and the “Forever Rebl” campaign
Coinciding with the reveal of the RB20 was the launch of the team’s “Forever Rebl” campaign, celebrating two illustrious decades in the sport.
Red Bull Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner is excited to see what 2024 will bring. He said: “This is a momentous year in the Team’s history.
“Over the past 20 years, Red Bull has succeeded in changing the landscape of Formula One and it has done it by being determined to do things differently, by being committed to playing hard and racing even harder and by being utterly focused on competing for the biggest prizes in the sport.”
Horner is confident that the RB20, along with the team’s driver pairing, will enable Red Bull to defend both Championships. He added: “The latest chapter of that story starts today with the RB20.
“It’s going to a thrilling and hugely competitive season but as we saw last year, this is a team operating at the peak of its powers and in Max and Checo we have two drivers who can deliver at every circuit, in any conditions, so I’m confident that, just as we have done for the past 20 years, we can compete for podiums, wins and hopefully more championships.”
We will next see the RB20 on track during pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, commencing February 21. The opening race of the 2024 Formula One World Championship, the Bahrain Grand Prix, begins March 2.
Feature Image Credit: @redbullracing on X