After the global outbreak of COVID-19 threatened to derail the series in 2020, F1 held its season-opener in July to ensure continuity. Drastic rescheduling and spectator-less races kept F1 going throughout the global pandemic. COVID-19 had a major impact on car development, and the FIA issued a number of regulations to restrict development to maintain fairness and reduce the burden on the teams.

Scuderia Toro Rosso, which had been competing in F1 since 2006, changed its name to Scuderia AlphaTauri in 2020 and continued its collaboration with Honda power units from 2018 as a factory team.

The AT01, the new team’s first car, was an improved version of the STR14 that debuted with Toro Rosso the previous year, but some of the gearbox, rear suspension, and front suspension components were taken directly from the 2019 Red Bull RB15, and with the concept almost identical to the RB15, expectations were high for improved preformance.

Honda's power unit development was also severely affected by the COVID-19 disaster. HRD Sakura was temporarily closed and the FIA’s emergency regulations prohibited any power unit updates. Inheriting the Spec 4 high-efficiency combustion system introduced the previous year, the RA620H’s combustion chambers’ shape remained the same, but the piston crowns had been changed to increase the compression ratio. In addition, a new surface treatment called “bear plating” was applied to the cylinders before the season started in July to ensure withstanding of the friction caused by high power. The term “Bear” (“Kuma” in Japanese) referred to Honda’s Kumamoto Plant.

The new Alfatauri team with Pierre Gasly and Daniel Kvyat had a difficult time achieving results in the early part of the season. The best result in the first half was seventh, and although it scored some points, the team was seventh, far behind sixth place in the constructors’ standings. The car had potential, acknowledged the drivers, but was unable to gain results.

Round 8, Italy, presented the best opportunity for Alphatauri. The race at Monza was a chaotic, with the top cars dropping out. A well-timed tire change paid off for Gasly, who started 10th, and was positioned in 3rd when the race was red-flagged midway. After the race resumed from a standing start, race-leader Lewis Hamilton dropped out to serve a penalty, and Gasly charged boldly to take the lead. With 25 laps to go, Gasly defended his position from his former teammate, Carlos Sainz Jr., to take the checkered flag four-tenths of a second ahead.

Gasly’s first F1 victory was the AlphaTauri’s first in 12 years, including the Toro Rosso period since 2008. This win coincided with the 50th race of the Toro Rosso Honda partnership which began in 2018, and was also a great joy for Honda, grateful to the team for its commitment in continuing F1 activities.