The Red Bull RB16 should be the car in which Max Verstappen can hunt for his very first Formula 1 world title. chance to crown Verstappen as the youngest world champion ever.
The sounds within Red Bull-Honda are very optimistic, something that is a well-known phenomenon during the winter period. What is now known about the new RB16 from Verstappen?
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Aerodynamic concept
Completely in line with the design philosophy of top designer Adrian Newey, the RB16 will also have a high butt, known in professional terms. This means that the car is considerably higher on its wheels at the rear and is a proven concept, with the focus on winning as much downforce as possible from the bottom of the car.
No major changes are expected at the front of the Red Bull, whereby it is unlikely that the RB16 will have a Ferrari-like nose and front wing. The RB16 will show many similarities with its predecessor in terms of nose and front wing. However, the S-duct has been further optimized.
Verstappen and Alexander Albon will have a completely new rear wing in 2020. Red Bull had too little downforce at the rear of the car in 2019, certainly at the start of the season. According to the team, the RB16 was designed to be as efficient as possible to compensate for a (possible) lack of horsepower while still maintaining a reasonable top speed on the straight sections.
Now that Honda has made great strides last season and has largely closed the gap to the competition, the RB16 can be equipped with a configuration that generates more downforce with the new rear wing, without compromising top speed.
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Rear wheel suspension
Italian Corriere della Sera reports that the RB16 gets a considerably changed rear suspension. This would be more in line with that of Mercedes and should contribute to two things: more stability and less tire wear.
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Honda engine
After Honda made a giant leap in 2019, the Japanese motorcycle supplier wants to repeat this step in 2020. The focus is on two things: reliability and power.
Since only three combustion engines, turbos, MGU-Hs and MGU-Ks can be used in 22 races, it is of great importance that these components also last at least eight Grand Prix weekends. Grid punishments can be the final blow in the title fight and in 2019, Verstappen had to pay twice.
In 2019, the Ferrari engine was the most powerful and Honda managed to compete reasonably well with the power sources of Mercedes and Renault. The Japanese power source came to life under hot conditions and on the higher-lying circuits, but Honda was unable to reach the top level on various other courses. The objective of management is that the Honda engine must be able to follow the very best engines on every circuit.
The 2020 version of the power unit is a further development of the concept that was also used last season. The dimensions of the power unit would differ little from those of its predecessor. However, the positioning of this in the chassis has been optimized, which also has a positive effect on the aerodynamics of the rear bodywork, which is even narrower than before, as well as the balance of the car.
Honda has the first version of its power source ready for 2020 and it has been extensively tested at the factory in Japan. The first test results of the Honda engine pleased Red Bull and Honda.
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Color scheme
The chance that Red Bull will appear at the start in 2020 with a more or less unchanged color scheme is very high. In recent years, the livery has hardly changed and it has been extended to the various junior classes. RacingNews365 has seen the livery of the Red Bull-sponsored cars from the junior classes, which largely corresponds to that of the RB15 of 2019.
It is still unknown whether Red Bull once again conjures up a special camouflage livery from the top hat during the presentation or during the test days, something that surprised it in 2019, among other things.
Car in the photo with this article is the RB15 of 2019.
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