After claiming its first win in Honda’s fourth F1 era, and winning three rounds in 2019, Red Bull Honda had its sights set on winning the title in 2020. Honda, confident with the high performance of the new-concept combustion, introduced the RA620H, based on the RA619H and further improved to bring raise its potential. Red Bull, looking ahead to the major regulation changes scheduled for 2021, aimed to improve on the previous year’s results with the RB16, an evolution of the RB15 with improvements mainly in the front end.

In early 2020, the spread COVID-19 caused massive turmoil around the world. Despite the growing sense of crisis, pre-season tests went ahead as scheduled, and Red Bull Honda completed the test smoothly and with good results. However, the season-opener in Australia was canceled after race week began due to the number of infected F1 staff, plunging the series into crisis with no clear future. In March, FIA decided to postpone by one year a major change in regulations to adopt ground-effect designs in 2021. Power unit manufacturers were shut down, as were the constructors. While various sporting events around the world were being cancelled, F1 remained committed to its survival and announced in May that the season would begin in July. With the number of countries and circuits where the championship could be held being limited, 17 rounds were miraculously held despite an unusually irregular and overcrowded schedule that included consecutive races at the same circuit.

Due to COVID-19’s impact, the accompanying regulation changes, and its own circumstances, 2020 was a year of unprecedented upheaval for Honda. The start of the season was postponed, all activities were suspended due to the spread of the disease, and Honda temporarily closed HRD Sakura. COVID-19 threatened the survival of many companies, and Honda was no exception. Its head of development, Yasuaki Asaki, decided to temporarily suspend F1 development. All development for the next generation cars, including basic research, was halted.

Emergency regulations prohibiting updates after the start of the season set strict limits on development, along with restrictions on bench operating time. Under these circumstances, Honda made new improvements in the short period leading up to the start of the season. Surface treatment was applied to the cylinders to withstand the combustion pressure caused by high-speed combustion, reducing wear and improving reliability. This technology, created through a collaboration between Honda’s Kumamoto Factory and HRD Sakura, was known as “bear plating.”

In October, while the team was competing in a season with repeated regulation additions and changes, and all development was not allowed, Honda announced that it would end its F1 activities after the 2021 season. The sudden decision came as a shock not only to F1 officials and fans, but also to Honda’s development team. Asaki decided to resume development of a new machine, which had been temporarily suspended, and HRD Sakura pushed forward with the development of a new-framed power unit.

The RB16 improved the front suspension configuration adopted in the RB15 by returning to the previous, orthodox style. Nose diving was minimized, and the upper arm was changed from a split- to an integrated design to increase rigidity and improve aerodynamics. However, it was not possible to completely suppress the car’s twitchy behavior, and its drivers were particularly troubled by the sudden instability in the rear.

In terms of aerodynamics, the already narrow nose was made even narrower, the treatment of the tips with ducts became more complex, and capes were added on both sides of the nose, indicating the intention to control the air more finely. The front and rear wing details were also refined. The front wing had was tapered, sloping toward the wingtip plates, which had been the trend, while the rear wing reverted to an orthodox design with two pillars instead of the one support used in the RB15.

The season started in July in Austria, and Mercedes, which had dramatically improved its performance since the tests, dominated the early part of the season, while Red Bull Honda was not able to achieve the expected results and showed signs of impatience. Max Verstappen’s first win of the season came in Round 5 at the 70th Silverstone grand prix in England. In the second half of the season, Mercedes’ momentum remained unwavering, and Verstappen’s second win came in the final round in Abu Dhabi, where his title bid was ultimately set back in a whirlwind of upheaval.