Racing Point RP20


The Racing Point RP20 is a Formula One racing car designed and developed by the Racing Point F1 Team, to compete in the 2020 Formula One World Championship. It is the second car built by the team, and will be the team's last car to be launched under the name of Racing Point, as the team is set to be rebranded as Aston Martin during the 2021 Formula One World Championship. The RP20 is set to be driven by Sergio Pérez and Lance Stroll. The car was planned to make its competitive debut at the 2020 Australian Grand Prix, but this was delayed when the race was cancelled and the next three events in Bahrain, Vietnam and China were postponed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The RP20 made its debut at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix.
The pandemic also prompted the delay of technical regulations that had been planned for introduction in. Under an agreement reached between teams and the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, 2020-specification cars—including the RP20—will see their lifespan extended to compete in 2021.
The car has faced criticism and is currently under investigation due to its close resemblance to the Mercedes W10 run by Mercedes in 2019.

Background

The car passed its crash test in January 2020, which was conducted at Cranfield Impact Centre in Bedfordshire, England, and allowed its homologation with the FIA. Racing Point team principal Otmar Szafnauer described the car as an evolution of its previous contender, owing to the relative lack of change in the regulations for the 2020 season, and that the team had begun work on the car in July 2019, ahead of the mid-season summer break.

Pre-season criticism

During 2020 Formula One pre-season testing the car was nicknamed the "Pink Mercedes" due to its apparent resemblance to the Mercedes AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+ used by Mercedes during. Racing Point's technical director Andrew Green stated that the car "shares some resemblances in some areas" but denied that there had been a transfer of designs between the teams. The design caused controversy amongst other teams, with McLaren team principal Zak Brown referring to the RP20 as "what appears to be last year's Mercedes" prior to the season opening Austrian Grand Prix.

Season summary

After the Styrian Grand Prix, Renault lodged a formal protest against the legality of the RP20, suggesting its brake ducts may be too similar to the Mercedes W10's. Brake ducts of the RP20 were impounded and stewards requested Mercedes provide brake ducts from the W10 for comparison. Renault also made an identical protest to the results of Hungarian Grand Prix regarding the RP20's legality. Pérez was forced to skip the British Grand Prix after testing positive for COVID-19 and he was replaced by Nico Hülkenberg.

Complete Formula One results

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