Red Bull RB16B an "extensive update" not a new car

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has confirmed the RB16B is not an "all-new car" but rather an "extensive update" of the team's 2020 machinery.

In a bid to lower costs throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, teams agreed to push back the radical new aerodynamic regulations by a year to 2022 and predominantly run last year's car this season.

Teams were each granted two development tokens to allow for larger components to be updated, leading to Red Bull developing a new nose structure, and the decision to designate its 2021 car as a 'B-spec'.

After unveiling the car this week and running it for the first time in a filming day at Silverstone on Wednesday, Horner said: “The car, due to the regulations, is very much a carryover.

"So the chassis is the same chassis that was used in Abu Dhabi for example but, of course, all the periphery bits, a lot of those get revisited and changed.

“It’s an update, an extensive update I would say, hence the name ‘16B’ rather than being an all-new car.

“Obviously, there are systems checks. It’s a new engine from Honda on their side as well so that’s where the main focus is.”

Max Verstappen and new team-mate Sergio Perez took to the track in the car, with the Mexican suggesting it had "a lot of potential".

For Verstappen, Horner believes the Dutch driver will be able to draw comparisons between the RB16 of last year and its evolution.

"Obviously, you will get something from it," added Horner. "He will have a reference point from when he last drove the car so it’s a bit of information.

“You’re always learning in Formula 1 so any lap that you do there is always something to learn.”

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