An “entirely new” RP20 at Racing Point

Before going under the banner Aston Martin in 2021, continued to the participation of Lawrence Stroll announced a few days ago, Racing Point F1 is counting on this year of transition to take advantage of his boss's investments to finally find a rank more in line with his ambitions.

And while many teams have “simply evolved” their car 2019, Racing Point F1 almost resets the counters on the technical level for 2020, as indicated by Andrew Green, technical director of the training.

“The RP20 is completely new, which means there are very few parts from our 2019 car, analyzes the latter. For 2020 we designed the car from scratch, almost from a clean sheet, which is very exciting, because the team hasn't been able to do that for a very long time.

We've applied everything we've learned over the past few seasons, combined with what we've seen adopted by some of our competitors, and we've done our best to optimize the final season of these current regulations. »

Enough to erase certain defects highlighted on the previous car, which had not allowed Sergio Pérez and Lance stroll to shine during the previous campaign.

“Our car had an Achilles heel when it came to balance and we also struggled on circuits where high downforce was required, says Green. For 2020, I think we've solved both of those issues. Drivers should notice a significant difference in track performance. »

To the point of aiming higher than 7th place in the Manufacturers' ranking? “Firstly, we need to start this season at a much higher level than in 2019, starting with the first test in Barcelona this week. tempers Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal of Racing Point F1.

I am convinced we can do it and our ultimate goal is to be at the top of the mid-grid. But we also intend to finish the year closer to third place than fifth.

We know that the car we will be running in Melbourne is a significant step forward in all areas, but where that puts us depends on what our competitors have done over the winter. »

In the meantime, Sergio Pérez has lifted his RP20 to second place in the standings from the first driving session in Barcelona, just behind Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes).