The RB20 has earned comparisons with the Mercedes W14 from 2023 thanks to the new bonnet bodywork which features a high line, with bulges starting from the edge of the halo.
Red Bull has also abandoned the side air intake, now widely used by other teams, to switch to a different solution, but Motorsport.com understands that this design will only be used for the hot conditions of pre-season testing and for the opening races in Bahrain, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
When F1 moves to Japan in early April, where temperatures will drop and cooling will be less required, the RB20 will be updated with a design reminiscent of the 'zero'-style sidepod seen on Mercedes, a concept it struggled to exploit good throughout 2022 and 2023.
Mercedes' theory was that by making the body smaller to increase the floor surface area for the new era of ground effect, greater downforce could be achieved.
However, while these numbers were simulated in the wind tunnel under perfect conditions, the car was pushed out of its narrow operating window due to the bumps faced along the surface of the real circuits.
Mercedes ultimately abandoned this arrangement for the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix, where the team switched to more conventional bellies, pioneered mostly by Red Bull.
Red Bull should be able to ease its transition to the so-called “zeropod”, as the RB20 in presentation form appears to have more compact vertical air intakes to allow for a narrower body.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing Team Principal
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The team can further exploit a trick it used in 2023 to partly offset aerodynamic testing restrictions that limit wind tunnel testing and CFD simulations, with Red Bull being hit hardest last year due to its lead in the Constructors' championship, as well as a further 10% cut as punishment for exceeding the 2021 cost cap.
The restrictions on aerodynamic testing provide exceptions for “wind tunnel testing exclusively for the development of powertrain heat exchangers that reject heat into the air, or for powertrain operation from a boundary starting at the powertrain air intake ducts”.
As last season, and once again with the move to Mercedes-style zero-pods, Red Bull has placed an emphasis on upgrades that target cooling. Repackaging the internal components falls outside of the aero testing restrictions, which has allowed the team to spend fewer resources refining the external bodywork.
At the launch of the RB20, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “Logically, there will be a convergence with the regulations. We can see that other cars have taken inspiration from the RB19.”
“So, I think the team has done a great job on the RB20. They haven't rested on their laurels and you can see that they have pushed the limits of the car forward.”
“They're constantly trying to evolve. If you look at the attention to detail on the car, there are some really exquisite details. There was no complacency, they continued to evolve and push the limits.”
“There is also a great innovation that will no doubt be examined in the coming weeks, but I think the creativity has been very high in the team. It is not a conservative evolution.”
When asked about the move to a Mercedes-style bonnet, Horner replied: “It's not a tactical choice. It's based on performance and what we see through our simulation tools.”
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