Max Verstappen, the race winner, drove the Red Bull Racing RB20 in the parc fermé on April 21, 2024. This took place during the Chinese Grand Prix, which is part of the Formula 1 World Championship and happened in Shanghai, China.
Despite restrictions on Honda’s participation due to the engine freeze, the manufacturer played a crucial role in maintaining Red Bull’s dominance in Formula 1. Since the introduction of ground effect cars in 2022, Red Bull has been unbeatable, winning almost every race last season and easily securing both championships.
Red Bull’s strong position allowed them to limit development of the RB19 last summer and focus on its successor. As a result, the RB20 was launched with several innovations that contributed to the team’s success, winning four out of the first five races this season.
Even though Red Bull communicated the necessary changes, Honda Racing Corporation President Koji Watanabe expressed astonishment at the extent of modifications made to the RB20. Despite winning 21 out of 22 races together last year, Red Bull still decided to change the concept, which Watanabe finds unbelievable. The team made significant requests to adapt Honda’s engine to the new RB20 concept, leaving Honda surprised when they saw the actual car.
The announcement of Honda’s exit from F1 at the end of 2021 led to the introduction of power unit homologation by the FIA, with the aim of reducing costs. However, existing suppliers can still work on improving reliability. Watanabe explained that, although they cannot increase power due to the engine freeze, they can adapt the engine to the new car. During the winter, Honda focused on enhancing the engine’s reliability, which gave Red Bull more freedom in their design and aerodynamic concept. This allowed them to make changes to the position of oil coolers, radiators, and other components. The goal was to minimize the risk of damaging the power unit, even though it did not cause serious issues last year. Honda made significant efforts to further improve the engine’s reliability for this season.
