The Red Bull Racing RB16 and RB16B are
Formula One racing cars designed and constructed by
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing, also simply known as Red Bull or RBR and currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing, is a Formula One racing team, racing under an Austrian licence and based in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Formula One teams owned ...
to compete during the
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...
and
2021 Formula One World Championship
The 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars which was the 72nd running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the ...
s, respectively. They were powered by
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
's RA620H (2020) and RA621H (2021) power units, being the second and third Red Bull to use the Japanese manufacturer's engines. The drivers for 2020 were
Max Verstappen
Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch Auto racing, racing driver and the 2021 Formula One World Championship, 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Championship, 2022 Formula One World Champion. He Formula One drivers ...
and
Alexander Albon
Alexander Albon Ansusinha ( th, อเล็กซานเดอร์ อัลบอน อังศุสิงห์; , , born 23 March 1996) is a Thai-British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Williams Racing, under th ...
, both of whom were retained by the team for a fifth and second season respectively, with
Sergio Pérez
Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990), is a Mexican racing driver who races in Formula One for Red Bull Racing, having previously driven for Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and Racing Point. He won his first Formula ...
taking Albon's place for 2021. Albon became the team's test and reserve driver for the 2021 season. The RB16 was planned to make its competitive debut at the
2020 Australian Grand Prix
The 2020 Australian Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2020) was a Formula One motor race that was due to be held on 15 March 2020 in Melbourne, Victoria. The race was to be contested at the Albert Park Cir ...
, but this was delayed when the race was cancelled and the next three events in
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
and
China were postponed in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
.
The RB16 made its debut at the
2020 Austrian Grand Prix
The 2020 Austrian Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Rolex Großer Preis von Österreich 2020) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 5 July 2020 at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. The race was the opening round of ...
, while the RB16B made its debut at the
2021 Bahrain Grand Prix.
The pandemic prompted the delay of technical regulations that had been planned for introduction in . Under an agreement between teams and the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...
, 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.
Design
2020
With largely unchanged technical regulations for the 2020 season, the RB16 was based on its predecessor the
RB15. The RB16 featured a narrower nose with two additional inlets at its front, as well as a redesigned
barge-board area and smaller
side-pod inlets. The car also featured a large 'cape' element below the nose, bodywork that was popularised by
Mercedes in 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. The team also redesigned the front
multi-link suspension
A multi-link suspension is a type of vehicle suspension with one or more longitudinal arms. A wider definition can consider any independent suspensions having three control links or more multi-link suspensions. These arms do not have to be of e ...
of the car, with team principal
Christian Horner
Christian Edward Johnston Horner (born 16 November 1973) is a British former racing driver and current Team Principal of the Red Bull Formula One team, a position he has held since 2005, winning eleven world titles (five World Constructors' Ch ...
stating that the intention was to improve the performance of the car in low-speed corners.
2021
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.
Honda RA621H
Due to difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
had initially decided to postpone the introduction of its all-new power unit design to the 2022 season.
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 beat
Mercedes 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.
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.
Some features of the RA621H include a notably more compact
camshaft
A camshaft is a shaft that contains a row of pointed cams, in order to convert rotational motion to reciprocating motion. Camshafts are used in piston engines (to operate the intake and exhaust valves), mechanically controlled ignition systems ...
layout that is placed lower, a different valve angle and shorter cylinder bore spacing compared to the previous season's RA620H.
These changes altered the shape of the combustion chamber and the airflow on the camshaft and created a significantly smaller engine with a lower centre of gravity.
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.
Other features of the RA621H include a way to increase the power output of the internal combustion engine without decreasing the
MGU-K
Since its inception in 1947, Formula One has used a variety of engine regulations. "Formulae" limiting engine capacity had been used in Grand Prix racing on a regular basis since after World War I. The engine formulae are divided according ...
's output, modifications to the turbine and compressor as well as new plating on the cylinder block from the company's
Kumamoto motorcycle mass production facility to improve durability.
Special livery
At the
2021 Turkish Grand Prix
The 2021 Turkish Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Rolex Turkish Grand Prix 2021) was a Formula One motor race, held on 10 October 2021 at Istanbul Park in Tuzla, Istanbul. It was the sixteenth of twenty-two rounds of the 2021 Formul ...
, 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, the
1965 Mexican Grand Prix
The 1965 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Ciudad Deportiva Magdalena Mixhuca in Mexico City on October 24, 1965. It was race 10 of 10 in both the 1965 World Championship of Drivers and the 1965 International Cup for Formul ...
. 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.
Competition summary
2020

Verstappen and Albon started second and fourth on the grid respectively for the season-opening
Austrian Grand Prix
The Austrian Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Österreich) is a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile sanctioned motor racing event that was held in , –, –, and then returned to the Formula One calendar in .
History
The A ...
, however both cars would go on to retire with electrical failures during the race. Despite being reasonably competitive in the hands of Verstappen who scored several podiums including a victory at the
70th Anniversary Grand Prix at
Silverstone Circuit, the car was generally no match for the combination of
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...
and the
Mercedes F1 W11
The Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance is a Formula One racing car designed and constructed by the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team under the direction of James Allison, John Owen, Mike Elliott, Loïc Serra, Ashley Way, Emiliano Giangiulio, Jarro ...
as
Mercedes 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 since
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...
. Albon also ended the year on a high, being able to pressure Mercedes and prevent them from trying an alternate strategy, finishing fourth. Overall, the team finished second in the constructors championship,
with Verstappen and Albon finishing third and seventh, respectively.
2021

At the season-opening
Bahrain Grand Prix
The Bahrain Grand Prix ( ar, جائزة البحرين الكبرى), officially known as the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix for sponsorship reasons, is a Formula One motor racing event in Bahrain. The first race took place at the Bahrain Internat ...
, Verstappen finished second and Pérez fifth. During qualifying Verstappen achieved 1st and Pérez 11th. Again Verstappen outperformed his teammate throughout the season, getting 10 wins and 18 podiums, while Pérez got one win and 5 podiums. Verstappen fought for the championship with
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...
all season long, winning it on the last lap of the
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ( ar, سباق جائزة أبوظبي الكبرى) is a Formula One motor racing event. It was announced in early 2007 at the Abu Dhabi F1 Festival in the United Arab Emirates. The first race took place on 1 November 2 ...
, after a last-minute restart, caused by a crash from
Nicholas Latifi
Nicholas Daniel Latifi (born 29 June 1995) is a Canadian racing driver who last raced for Williams Racing under the Canadian flag in the 2022 Formula One World Championship. Latifi made his Formula One debut at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix ...
. Peréz finished fourth in the championship, after being as high as third.
Even with Verstappen's success in the Drivers' Championship, Red Bull still finished second in the Constructors' Championship, again behind
Mercedes by 28 points.
Overall, the RB16 and RB16B competed in 39 races, winning 13 (success rate of 33.33%).
The RB16B became the first non-Mercedes car to win any championship since
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...
, Honda became the first Japanese and Asian engine supplier world champions of the turbo-hybrid era, and became one of two championship cars with the
Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 (Red Bull won drivers, and Mercedes won constructors).
Complete Formula One results
(
key)
;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.
References
External links
Red Bull Racing Official WebsiteHonda Racing F1 Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Bull RB16
Red Bull Formula One cars
2020 Formula One season cars
2021 Formula One season cars
Formula One championship-winning cars