Early-season rounds saw dominant pace, which was confirmed when Red Bull repeated their dominant performances shown throughout the previous year, but as the season progressed, the team found itself pressured and outpaced by rival teams, particularly by McLaren and their MCL38. While the team attempted to introduce upgrades and changes to their car to return to their season-opening dominance, an uptick of performance from McLaren and Ferrari saw them drop to third in the Constructors' Championship. However, Verstappen took two more wins at the São Paulo and Qatar Grands Prix, the former victory contributing to Verstappen ultimately sealing the Drivers' Championship at the following Las Vegas Grand Prix, but even so, Pérez's poor performance in particular - finishing in eighth with 152 points to Verstappen's 437 - meant that Red Bull was knocked out of contention for the Constructors' Championship at the aforementioned Qatar Grand Prix, where, despite Verstappen's victory, Pérez failed to finish the race due to a clutch issue. Ultimately, Red Bull finished in third in the Constructors' Championship behind Ferrari and eventual winners McLaren.
The RB20 achieved 9 wins (plus 4 sprint wins, the last being at the United States Grand Prix), 18 podiums, and 8 pole positions – plus 4 sprint pole positions – and it holds 4 fastest laps.
Competitive history
Pre-season
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.[6]
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.[7] Verstappen took another dominant victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Meanwhile, teammate Pérez finished in second place once more, this time 13 seconds behind him. This marked Verstappen's 100th career podium.[8]
The Australian Grand Prix 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 2022), which allowed Scuderia Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. to score a victory.[9] Further wins and double podium finishes in the Japanese Grand Prix[10] and Chinese Grand Prix[11] followed. At the Miami Grand Prix, 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.[12]
Mid-season rounds: Falling behind rivals
At the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, 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.[13] At the Monaco Grand Prix, Verstappen qualified and finished sixth while Pérez had a heavy tangle with the Haas cars, sending all three drivers into retirement.[14] Verstappen won the Canadian Grand Prix after a close qualifying session with George Russell, with the race being held under intermediate conditions that facilitated changes to the wet compounds.[15] He also won the Spanish Grand Prix.[16] 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 Austrian Grand Prix 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.[17] The British Grand Prix was particularly tricky for both Red Bull drivers, 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.[18] The Hungarian Grand Prix 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.[19] The Belgian Grand Prix 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 George Russell).[20]
Verstappen during the Dutch Grand Prix
The Dutch Grand Prix saw Verstappen take the second-fastest time in qualifying. He briefly took the lead after Norris had a poor start, but the McLaren driver showed consistent pace behind his rival. On lap 18, Norris took the lead and extended the gap to Verstappen by over 22 seconds as he took the win; for comparison, Verstappen, while in the lead, could only muster a gap that was under 1.5 seconds to Norris, and he suffered issues with turning the car.[21]
The Italian Grand Prix saw both Red Bulls qualify seventh and eighth for Verstappen and Pérez respectively. Pérez finished where he started in eighth while Verstappen made up one place to finish sixth, but ended up 37 seconds behind race winner Charles Leclerc.[22]
Closing rounds: Fending off rivals and championship victory
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw Pérez, who qualified fourth, outqualify Verstappen for the first time this season; Verstappen started sixth. Pérez was in the fight for a podium the whole race until he collided with Sainz, taking both out of the race at the very end. Verstappen's title rival Norris worked his way up from a lowly sixteenth on the grid to overtake him for fourth during the race's closing stages.[23] McLaren's large points haul in this Grand Prix enabled them to surge ahead of Red Bull in the Constructor's Championship for the first time.[24] The RB20 was expected to struggle at the Singapore Grand Prix, given its issues with kerb-riding. However, set-up changes during practice drastically improved the car's driveability, enabling Verstappen to qualify and finish second, although he still finished over twenty seconds behind race winner Norris.[25] Perez struggled for pace relative to his teammate, finishing only tenth.
Following a four-week break, Red Bull introduced an upgrade package at the United States Grand Prix to reverse their recent slump in the pecking order.[26] Verstappen reaped the benefits of the upgrades to qualify on pole for the sprint. He converted this advantage into a sprint victory after holding off Norris and the charging Ferrari drivers. However, the RB20 struggled for race pace during the main race, as Verstappen found himself outpaced by both Ferrari drivers and Norris. Norris overtook Verstappen on lap 52, but was subsequently penalised for overtaking off the track, promoting Verstappen to the podium.[27] Perez only managed to finish seventh, and lost out to George Russell despite the latter starting from the pit-lane.
Red Bull endured a miserable weekend in Mexico, as Verstappen endured multiple power unit issues during free practice, reporting a "weird noise" coming from the engine.[28] Perez was knocked out of Q1 in his home race, and his race was hardly better, finishing seventeenth and last of the classified drivers after picking up a ten-second penalty for starting outside of his grid box.[29] Verstappen qualified second, and took the lead from polesitter Sainz on the opening lap. However, Verstappen picked up twenty seconds' worth of penalties for twice running Norris off the track on lap 10.[30] Verstappen struggled for race pace and was only able to recover to sixth. With Ferrari drivers Sainz and Leclerc finishing 1st and 3rd respectively, Red Bull dropped to third in the Constructor's Championship behind McLaren and Ferrari.
Before the São Paulo Grand Prix, Red Bull opted to change Verstappen's ICE, resulting in an automatic five-place grid penalty for the main race.[31] The RB20 demonstrated strong race pace at the São Paulo Grand Prix sprint, with Verstappen finishing third on the road just behind the two McLarens, while Perez climbed up to eighth from a lowly thirteenth on the grid. However, Verstappen was penalised five seconds for a VSC infringement, demoting him to fourth behind Leclerc.[32] Both drivers were knocked out in Q2 after the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll crashed late into the session, preventing Verstappen and Perez from attempting another fast lap. Verstappen's twelfth place classification in qualifying meant he would start seventeenth after his five-place grid penalty was applied, while title rival Norris qualified on pole.[33] In tricky conditions, Verstappen would scythe through the field to win against the odds in the main race, marking his and the RB20's first victory since the Spanish Grand Prix.[34] Perez would have a much tougher time in this Grand Prix as he spun on the opening lap and finished eleventh, outside the points-paying positions.
At the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the RB20 struggled to match the straight-line speed of its rivals as the team did not design a low-downforce rear wing spec ideal for the circuit configuration.[35] This meant Verstappen only qualified fifth for the main race, while Perez was knocked out in Q1. Verstappen climbed up to second in the race's opening stint after passing Leclerc and Sainz, who both experienced severe tyre graining. Verstappen struggled for race pace on the hard tyre in the second and third stints and was overtaken by Hamilton, Sainz and Leclerc before the end of the race. However, as Verstappen finished ahead of Lando Norris, he mathematically secured the 2024 World Driver's championship with two races to spare.[36] Perez recovered to tenth in a drive that included a double overtake on Liam Lawson and Kevin Magnussen on lap 38.
The RB20 was initially uncompetitive around Lusail International Circuit at the Qatar Grand Prix. Verstappen qualified only 6th in sprint qualifying, while Perez would start from the pit lane after being knocked out in SQ1. Verstappen lost three places at the start of the sprint race, while Perez spent the entirety of the race in 20th, pitting mid-race to replace his front-wing. Verstappen overtook Pierre Gasly for 8th during the sprint, but he was unable to catch Nico Hulkenberg in 7th, citing struggles with oversteer.[37] In the 3 hours between the sprint and qualifying sessions, Red Bull tweaked their set-up, resulting in a significantly improved balance in the RB20 that enabled Verstappen to set the fastest time in Q3.[38] This would have been Verstappen and the RB20's first pole since the Austrian Grand Prix but for a one-place grid penalty for driving too slow in a cooldown lap.[39] Nevertheless, Verstappen took the lead from polesitter George Russell at turn 1, while Perez overtook Hamilton for 7th. Both drivers held their positions until a safety car was called out due to debris on track. However, Perez spun out during the safety car restart, causing a clutch failure and forcing him to retire from the race.[40] Verstappen held onto the lead for the rest of the race to claim his 9th victory of the season, but despite this, Red Bull fell out of contention for the World Constructor's Championship with one race to go.[41]
At the season finale in Abu Dhabi, the RB20 struggled with balance throughout the practice and qualifying sessions, with Verstappen qualifying only fifth after sliding on the exit of the final corner in Q3.[42] Verstappen was later promoted to fourth on the grid after Hulkenberg was given a grid penalty for illegally overtaking two cars on the pit exit road.[43] Both Red Bull drivers had a disastrous opening lap, with Verstappen dropping to eleventh after colliding with Oscar Piastri at turn 1, while Perez collided with Valtteri Bottas at turn 6, after which he lost drive and retired from the race.[44] Verstappen was given a 10-second penalty for his opening lap collision, and only recovered to sixth as the RB20 once again exhibited poor race pace.[45]
Characteristics
While initially dominant, the RB20 was quickly challenged by rival constructors McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes. One of the main issues Red Bull has tried to fix is a balance issue which leads to understeer, which was most apparent during the Hungarian and Dutch Grands Prix. Additionally, the RB20 struggled with kerb-riding, which was particularly apparent at the Monaco Grand Prix.[46]
During the Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen experienced understeer, complaining to team radio that despite having a -5 setting on his brake bias, the car continued to exhibit understeer.[47] After the race, Verstappen suggested that the car's pace had now fallen behind McLaren's MCL38.[48] Team principal Horner acknowledged after the Italian Grand Prix that Red Bull had a balance issue that caused a downwards trend in performance the team has since then attempted to fix.[49] Following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where Red Bull lost the lead of the Constructors' Championship to McLaren, Horner revealed that said issues, which also coincided with a downwards slump in form for Pérez, stemmed from an upgrade to the RB19 introduced at the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix; the team began to focus their development on Verstappen's car over fixing any potential issues with their ultimately dominant 2023 car.[50]
Liveries
RB20 with the “Stallion Red” livery driven by Verstappen at Silverstone
In March 2024, Red Bull announced REBL CUSTMS, a fan design livery competition for the RB20. The winning designs would be used on the car at three races: the British, Singapore, and United States Grands Prix.[51]
During the British Grand Prix, the team ran the first of the special liveries. The design was described as “Stallion Red” and was designed by Chalaj Suvanish from Thailand.[52]
Before the Singapore Grand Prix, Red Bull announced that they would no longer be using the fan-designed livery for the Singapore and United States Grands Prix, citing weight issues as the reason.[53]
Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza is a Mexican racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from 2011 to 2024. Pérez was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 2023 with Red Bull, and won six Grands Prix across 14 seasons.
Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro is a Spanish racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One for Ferrari. Sainz has won four Formula One Grands Prix across 10 seasons.
Lando Norris is a British racing driver, who competes in Formula One for McLaren. Norris was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 2024 with McLaren, and has won four Grands Prix across six seasons.
The 2021 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 12 September 2021 at Autodromo Nazionale Monza. It was the 14th round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship and the second Grand Prix in Italy in the season, after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on 18 April. The 53 lap race was won by McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo, who capitalised on a good front-row start and an accident between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton to take the race lead. Ricciardo was joined by Lando Norris in second with Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas in third. It was Ricciardo's first victory since the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix, and his last victory as a whole. In addition, the race was McLaren's first Grand Prix victory since Jenson Button's victory at the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix and the last until a victory for Norris at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix. This was also McLaren's first 1-2 finish since the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix, and also McLaren's first win at Monza since the 2012 Italian Grand Prix and first double podium since the 2014 Australian Grand Prix. As of 2024, this is the final Grand Prix appearance for Robert Kubica. It was also the last win for an Australian driver until Oscar Piastri at the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix.
The 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars, which was the 73rd running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of international motorsport, as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship was contested over twenty-two Grands Prix, which were held around the world, and ended earlier than in recent years to avoid overlapping with the FIFA World Cup.
The 2022 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 24 July 2022 at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France.
The 2020 Styrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that took place on 12 July 2020 at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Styria, Austria. It was the second round of the 2020 Formula One World Championship. It was the first running of the Styrian Grand Prix, and was held exactly one week after the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix on the same track, due to the rescheduling of the season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held on 13 November 2022 at the Interlagos Circuit in São Paulo, Brazil. Mercedes driver George Russell took his maiden Grand Prix win with his team mate Lewis Hamilton in second and with Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr. completing the podium in third. This race marked the first time since the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix that British drivers finished first and second in a Grand Prix. The race was also the last before Red Bull Racing started a record-breaking run of 15 consecutive race wins which lasted for 10 months until Carlos Sainz Jr. won the Singapore Grand Prix the next season. This was his and Mercedes' last win until the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix.
The 2021 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 23 May 2021 at the Circuit de Monaco, a street circuit that runs through the Principality of Monaco. It was the fifth round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship, the 78th time that the Monaco Grand Prix was held, and the first time it had been held since 2019 after the 2020 round was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 78 lap race was won by Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing after polesitter Charles Leclerc of Ferrari failed to start the race with a driveshaft problem.
The 2022 Singapore Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 2 October 2022 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore.
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The 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 24 April 2022 at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy. It was the first Grand Prix weekend of the 2022 season to utilize the Formula One sprint racing format.
The 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars, the 74th running of the Formula One World Championship. It was recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of international motorsport, as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship was contested over twenty-two Grands Prix, which were held around the world. It began in March and ended in November.
The Red Bull Racing RB18 is a Formula One car designed and constructed by Red Bull Racing which competed in the 2022 Formula One World Championship. The RB18 was driven by defending world champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez. Verstappen secured his second consecutive Drivers' Championship driving the RB18 and Red Bull secured their fifth Constructors' Championship, their first since 2013. The RB18 is one of Adrian Newey's most successful Formula One designs to date, behind its successor, the RB19, and also one of the most dominant Formula One cars ever built.
The 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars and was the 75th running of the Formula One World Championship. It was recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of international motorsport, as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship was contested over a record twenty-four Grands Prix held around the world. It began in March and ended in December.
The 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 26 November 2023 at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was the twenty-second and final round of the 2023 Formula One World Championship. The race was won by Max Verstappen ahead of Charles Leclerc and George Russell. Russell's podium placing allowed the Mercedes team to secure second position ahead of Ferrari.
The 2023 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, which was held on 2 July 2023 at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. It was the ninth round of the 2023 Formula One World Championship and the second Grand Prix weekend of the 2023 season to utilise the sprint format.
The 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held on 8 December 2024 at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was the twenty-fourth and final race of the 2024 Formula One World Championship.
The 2024 Qatar Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 1 December 2024 at the Lusail International Circuit in Lusail, Qatar. It was the twenty-third and penultimate round of the 2024 Formula One World Championship and the sixth and final Grand Prix weekend of the season to utilise the sprint format.
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References
↑ "Honda RBPTH002". Honda Racing. 15 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
↑ Noble, Jonathan (2 September 2024). "Red Bull trapped in "vicious circle" with RB20 problems". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 31 October 2024. We've got a disconnection in balance that just isn't working," [Horner] revealed. [...] "I think Max can't lean on the rear on the way into the corner, or Checo. And you then end up compensating for that. Then you create understeer. And it's on such a fine line.
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