The Red Bull Racing RB20 is a Formula One car designed and constructed by Red Bull Racing and powered by the Honda RBPTH002 power unit to compete in the 2024 Formula One World Championship. The car, which is the successor to the highly successful Red Bull RB19, was unveiled at the team factory in Milton Keynes on 15 February 2024.[1] [2] [3] The RB20 is currently driven by defending World Champion Max Verstappen and teammate Sergio Pérez.
After the pre-season test in Sakhir at the Bahrain International Circuit, reigning champion Max Verstappen was reported to be 'pleased' with the car's characteristics; Red Bull, who only topped the first day of testing, opted not to focus on lap times.[4]
The RB20's pace was confirmed in the subsequent Bahrain Grand Prix, where Verstappen took pole position; he then proceeded to score his fifth career grand chelem during the race itself. His teammate Pérez finished in second, 22 seconds behind him.[5] Verstappen took another dominant victory at the . Meanwhile, teammate Pérez finished in second place once more, this time 13 seconds behind him. This marked Verstappen's 100th career podium.[6]
The saw polesitter Verstappen run into early trouble after suffering a brake failure, marking his first retirement in over two years (having retired at the same event in), which allowed Scuderia Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. to score a victory.[7] Further wins and double podium finishes in the [8] and [9] followed. At the, Verstappen was set to win the race, having won the sprint, but hit a bollard and damaged his floor. A safety car period then allowed Lando Norris to overtake Verstappen and take his maiden Grand Prix victory. Meanwhile, Pérez finished in fourth.[10]
At the, Verstappen led a majority of the race from pole position and would go on to win, despite Norris closing in by the closing stages, while Pérez finished in eighth, his first finish outside of the top five this season.[11] At the, Verstappen qualified and finished sixth while Pérez had a heavy tangle with the Haas cars, sending all three drivers into retirement.[12] Verstappen won the after a close qualifying session with George Russell, with the race being held under intermediate conditions that facilitated changes to the wet compounds.[13] He also won the .[14] Verstappen finished ahead of Norris in both races. Meanwhile however, Pérez failed to finish within the top five in both races; retiring in Canada after he spun the car and broke his rear wing, and finishing in eighth in Spain.
Verstappen took pole position and won the sprint event. He was on course to win the main race, also from pole position, before a slow stop brought Norris into contention. The two fought for the lead before colliding on lap 64, giving both cars punctures with Norris in particular being handed race-ending damage. Verstappen also received a time penalty for causing the incident, which did not affect his final finishing position of fifth. Meanwhile, Pérez finished in seventh behind Nico Hülkenberg after Hülkenberg passed him in the closing stages of the race.[15] The was particularly tricky for the RB20, with Verstappen and Pérez making errors during qualifying that sent the latter out of Q1 and the former gaining floor damage. Verstappen, whose floor was replaced following qualifying, finished in second after making his way up the field while Pérez finished in seventeenth.[16] The was not any better, with Verstappen struggling with the car's handling and pace while Pérez crashed out of Q1 for the second consecutive race in a row. While Pérez recovered to seventh, Verstappen finished in fifth after colliding with Lewis Hamilton, dropping him behind Charles Leclerc.[17] The saw Verstappen, who set the fastest time in qualifying, take a grid penalty. Teammate Pérez, who set the second-fastest time in qualifying, started on the front row for the first time since the Chinese Grand Prix. However, during the race, Pérez dropped down from second to finish in seventh, while Verstappen, who started eleventh, finished in fourth (following the disqualification of another driver).[18]
The RB20 struggled with kerb-riding, which was particularly apparent at the Monaco Grand Prix.[19] After the Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen suggested that the car's pace had now fallen behind McLaren's MCL38.[20]
| Year | Entrant | Power unit | Tyres | Driver name | Grands Prix | Points | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BHR | SAU | AUS | JPN | CHN | MIA | EMI | MON | CAN | ESP | AUT | GBR | HUN | BEL | NED | ITA | AZE | SIN | USA | MXC | SAP | LVG | QAT | ABU | ||||||||
| Red Bull Racing | Honda RBPTH002 | rowspan="2" * | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Sergio Pérez | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Source: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
* Season still in progress.