Red Bull Racing RB16
Red Bull Racing RB16B

An RB16 driven byAlexander Albon at the2020 Formula One pre-season testing
Category	Formula One
Constructor	Red Bull Racing (chassis) Honda Racing Development Sakura (power unit)
Designers	Adrian Newey(Chief Technical Officer) Pierre Waché(Technical Director) Rob Marshall(Chief Engineering Officer) Guillaume Cattelani(Chief Engineer - Technology and Analysis Tools) Steve Winstanley(Chief Designer - Composites and Structures) Edward Aveling(Chief Designer - Mechanical and Systems) Ben Waterhouse(Chief Engineer, Performance) Dan Fallows(Chief Engineer, Aerodynamics) Craig Skinner(Chief Aerodynamicist) Toyoharu Tanabe(Power Unit Technical Director (Honda))
Predecessor	Red Bull RB15
Successor	Red Bull RB18
Technical specifications[1]
Engine	2020 Honda RA620H, 1.6 L (98 cu in)direct injectionV6turbocharged engine limited to 15,000rpm peak power produced 1010hp weight 150kg in amid-mounted, rear-wheel drive layout[2] 2021 Honda RA621H, 1.6 L (98 cu in)direct injectionV6turbocharged engine limited to 15,000rpm peak power produced 1040hp weight 145kg in amid-mounted, rear-wheel drive layout[3]
Electric motor	Hondakinetic andthermal energy recovery systems
Battery	Honda lithium-ion batteries
Fuel	Exxon/Esso (Exxon for US race only in 2021) Synergy andMobil High Performance Unleaded (Mexican race only in 2021) 94.25% gasoline + 5.75% bio fuel
Lubricants	Mobil 1 Racing 0W-40 fully-synthetic motor oil
Tyres	Pirelli
Competition history
Notable entrants	2020: Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 2021: Red Bull Racing Honda
Notable drivers	11.Sergio Pérez 23.Alexander Albon 33.Max Verstappen
Debut	2020 Austrian Grand Prix
First win	70th Anniversary Grand Prix
Last win	2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Last event	2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Races Wins Podiums Poles F/Laps 39 13 36 11 11
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	1 (2021,Max Verstappen)

TheRed Bull Racing RB16 andRB16B areFormula One racing cars designed and constructed byRed Bull Racing to compete during the2020 and2021 Formula One World Championships, respectively. They were powered byHonda'sRA620H (2020) andRA621H (2021) power units, being the second and third Red Bull to use the Japanese manufacturer's engines.^[4] The drivers for 2020 wereMax Verstappen andAlexander Albon, both of whom were retained by the team for a fifth and second season respectively, withSergio Pérez taking Albon's place for 2021.^[5] Albon became the team's test and reserve driver for the 2021 season. The RB16 was planned to make its competitive debut at the2020 Australian Grand Prix, but this was delayed when the race was cancelled and the next three events inBahrain,Vietnam andChina were postponed in response to theCOVID-19 pandemic.^[6][7] The RB16 made its debut at the2020 Austrian Grand Prix, while the RB16B made its debut at the2021 Bahrain Grand Prix.

The pandemic prompted the delay of technical regulations that had been planned for introduction in2021. Under an agreement between teams and theFédération Internationale de l'Automobile, 2020-specification cars—including the RB16—saw their lifespan extended to compete in 2021, with Red Bull producing an updated chassis called the RB16B, which used Honda's upgraded RA621H power unit.^[8][9]

With largely unchanged technical regulations for the 2020 season, the RB16 was based on its predecessor theRB15.^[10] The RB16 featured a narrower nose with two additional inlets at its front, as well as a redesignedbarge-board area and smallerside-pod inlets.^[11][12] The car also featured a large 'cape' element below the nose, bodywork that was popularised byMercedes in2017 but that Red Bull had not yet adopted. Parts of the rear suspension were raised, and the rear wing featured two supporting pillars compared to its predecessor's one.^[13] The team also redesigned the frontmulti-link suspension of the car, with team principalChristian Horner stating that the intention was to improve the performance of the car in low-speed corners.^[14]

Red Bull used its development tokens to change the shape of the gearbox casing, allowing it to rearrange the rear suspension and significantly increase rear downforce.^[15]

Due to difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,Honda had initially decided to postpone the introduction of its all-new power unit design to the 2022 season.^[16] However, following a reassessment of the situation after its decision to leave the sport at the end of the 2021 season, it decided to bring the new design forward by a year to 2021 in a bid to try to beatMercedes and win the championship in its final official season, although it would only have six months to complete the design before pre-season testing with a risk of significant reliability issues if it encountered problems.^[16][17]

The RA621H was Honda's biggest change since 2017, as it used the same basic concept between 2017 and 2020, though it did not feature a new engine layout like in 2017.^[16] Some features of the RA621H include a notably more compactcamshaft layout that is placed lower, a different valve angle and shorter cylinder bore spacing compared to the previous season's RA620H.^[18] These changes altered the shape of the combustion chamber and the airflow characteristics within the engine and created a significantly smaller engine with a lower centre of gravity.^[18] Honda believed that the engine is even smaller than the "size zero" design it initially used with McLaren when it returned to the sport in 2015, while having significantly improved performance.^[18] Other features of the RA621H include a way to increase the power output of the internal combustion engine without decreasing the MGU-H's output, modifications to the turbine and compressor as well as new plating on the cylinder block from the company'sKumamoto motorcycle mass production facility to improve durability.^[18]

At the2021 Turkish Grand Prix, the livery of the RB16B and drivers' overalls were red and white, inspired by the livery with which Honda won their first Formula One race, the1965 Mexican Grand Prix. The colouring was originally to be used at Honda's home race, the Japanese Grand Prix, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[19]

Verstappen and Albon started second and fourth on the grid respectively for the season-openingAustrian Grand Prix, however both cars would go on to retire with electrical failures during the race.^[20] Despite being reasonably competitive in the hands of Verstappen who scored several podiums including a victory at the70th Anniversary Grand Prix atSilverstone Circuit, the car was generally no match for the combination ofLewis Hamilton and theMercedes F1 W11 asMercedes retained the Constructors' title and Hamilton the Drivers'. Albon struggled to find good form and was outperformed by his teammate, scoring two podium finishes to Verstappen's 11 including 2 wins. The team ended the year on a high, with Verstappen scoring a dominant victory in Abu Dhabi, the first time Red Bull won at the circuit since2013. Albon also ended the year on a high, being able to pressure Mercedes and prevent them from trying an alternate strategy, finishing fourth.^[21] Overall, the team finished second in the constructors championship,^[22] with Verstappen and Albon finishing third and seventh, respectively.^[22]

At the season-openingBahrain Grand Prix, Verstappen finished second and Pérez fifth.^[23] During qualifying Verstappen achieved 1st and Pérez 11th.^[24] Again Verstappen outperformed his teammate throughout the season, getting 10 wins and 18 podiums, while Pérez got one win^[25] and 5 podiums. Verstappen fought for the championship withLewis Hamilton all season long,^[26] winning it on the last lap of theAbu Dhabi Grand Prix, after a last-minute restart, caused by a crash fromNicholas Latifi. Peréz finished fourth in the championship, after being as high as third.^[22] Even with Verstappen's success in the Drivers' Championship, Red Bull still finished second in the Constructors' Championship, again behindMercedes by 28 points.^[22]

Overall, the RB16 and RB16B competed in 39 races, winning 13 (success rate of 33.33%).^[22] The RB16B became the first non-Mercedes car to win any championship since2013, Honda became the first Japanese and Asian engine supplier world champions of the turbo-hybrid era, and became one of two championship cars with theMercedes-AMG F1 W12 (Red Bull won drivers, and Mercedes won constructors).^[27]

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Power unit	Tyres	Driver name	Grands Prix																						Points	WCC
2020	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing	RB16	Honda RA620H	P		AUT	STY	HUN	GBR	70A	ESP	BEL	ITA	TUS	RUS	EIF	POR	EMI	TUR	BHR	SKH	ABU						319	2nd
					Alexander Albon	13†	4	5	8	5	8	6	15	3	10	Ret	12	15	7	3	6	4
					Max Verstappen	Ret	3	2	2F	1	2	3	Ret	Ret	2	2F	3	Ret	6	2F	Ret	1P
2021	Red Bull Racing Honda	RB16B	Honda RA621H	P		BHR	EMI	POR	ESP	MON	AZE	FRA	STY	AUT	GBR	HUN	BEL‡	NED	ITA	RUS	TUR	USA	MXC	SAP	QAT	SAU	ABU	585.5	2nd
					Sergio Pérez	5	11	4	5	4	1	3	4	6	16F	Ret	19	8	5	9	3	3	3	4F	4	Ret	15†
					Max Verstappen	2P	1	2	2F	1	18†F	1PF	1P	1PF	Ret1 P	9	1P	1P	Ret2 P	2	2	1P	1	22	2F	2	1PF

Notes

• † Driver failed to finish the race, but was classified as they had completed over 90% of the winner's race distance.
• ‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance completed.

• Red Bull Racing Official Website
• Honda Racing F1 Official Website

• 2020 Formula One season cars
• 2021 Formula One season cars
• Red Bull Formula One cars
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• Controversial racing cars

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