RB16B Ready To Charge After Track Debut

Silverstone welcomes our 2021 car to its National Circuit.

Red Bull Racing’s new RB16B hit the track for the first time today as Max and Sergio got behind the wheel of the Team’s 2021 charger at an official filming day at Silverstone.

Max and the Team’s Official Test and Reserve Driver Alex also drove the RB15 as the Team gathered promotional footage ahead of the new season start in Bahrain next month.

On a cold, blustery day, Sergio was given the honour of steering the RB16B onto Silverstone’s National Circuit for its first laps and after a series of trouble-free runs the Mexican driver admitted it had been an emotional moment.

“Driving a new car is always special – for the driver and also for the Team. They have been working so hard through the winter, so to finally take the car on track, it’s quite an emotional day,” said Sergio. “I can say I think there is a lot of potential. The conditions were not great but it was nice to get a feeling for the car. It’s pretty exciting. Earlier this week I drove the RB15 but today I could feel a step in overall grip and top speed.”

After driving the RB15 in the morning, Max jumped into the RB16B in the afternoon and was pleased to get an initial feeling for the new car.

It’s always good to be back driving a Formula One car, it's such a great feeling.

“I started with the RB15 to just get a few laps in after the winter break and then I jumped into the RB16B. Days like today are all about getting comfortable with the car and with the new power unit, trying to make things run smoothly and trying to be well prepared before we go testing in Bahrain. It’s always good to be back driving a Formula One car and the first time you go out of the pits is such a great feeling.”

Bulls Behind The Wheel At Silverstone Filming Day

The New Team Mates Talk All Things RB16B

New Season, New Car, New Lid

Max Starts Off The Day In The RB15

Alex Gets Ready For His RB15 Run

Max In His New 2021 Cap

Christian Checks Out The New Charger

Seeing Read And Set To Charge In 2021

Heading Down The Straight With Honda

Sergio Set To Charge

A Man Who Means Business

Alex Puts In A Solid Stint

Getting A Good Look At The New Livery

Max-ing It Out On The Mediums

It’s always great to see a new car hit the track for the first time.

Team Principal Christian Horner added: “It’s always great to see a new car hit the track for the first time and to see the drivers get their first laps in. Today is mainly just about making sure all the basics are functioning well before it all gets packed up and sent out to Bahrain and in that regard today was a success. It was good also to have Alex here driving the RB15 along with Max. It’s important for Alex to stay sharp as he’s going to play a crucial role in the development of RB16B.”

For Alex, the opportunity to driver the RB15 and to share notes with Max and Checo on the RB16B was particularly useful as he embarks on the intense process of helping develop the car ahead of testing Bahrain in just under three weeks’ time and through the season.

“Being back at Silverstone is great and any day you get to drive a Formula One car is a good day and it was mega to get behind the wheel of the RB15 again to keep my eye in,” Alex said. “On my side, today was about understanding the personality of the RB16B, talking to Max, Checo, the engineers and getting their feedback so I can take it back to the factory where I’ll be doing a lot of work to help with development, especially now so that we can hit the ground running in Bahrain.”

Through The Lens: Filming Day

2021 Looks Good On Max

Ready To Charge Out Of The Shadows

Silverstone Smiles For Sergio And Max

Standing In The Spotlight

What. A. Lid!

Sergio's Happy To Be At Silverstone

Eyes On The Prize In 2021

Bulls Mean Business

Stand Out From The Crowd

Suited And Booted At Silverstone

With the first trouble-free laps ticked off, the Bulls’ next date with the RB16B will come at the Bahrain International Circuit in just under three weeks when Max and Sergio will share driving duties at the year’s sole three-day pre-season test.

And with the carryover from last year’s RB16 to this year’s car meaning a degree of familiarity for Max, it’s likely to be a more intense process for Checo, who will spend his time in Bahrain finding a comfort zone with all-new machinery.

“It takes a lot of time to get really comfortable and I expect a lot of changes in the first five races to get as happy as I can be,” said the Mexican. “However, I have to say we have made a lot of progress so far – we changed the seat, adjusted the belts and I’m pretty comfortable. That’s good and that was the priority before going to Bahrain.”

Ultimately, though, for both drivers, today’s filming day with the RB16B confirmed one thing: the season can’t come soon enough.

“I like the break but once you’re standing here and you see the car ready to go, you’re just itching to get back in. The first time you go out of the pits it’s always such a great feeling. I’m just looking forward to race weekends again,” said Max.

“I’m just looking forward to getting the car up there and to start fighting to get as many points as possible for the Team,” concluded Checo. “The goal is to win. There’s obviously a process to it and we have to get on top and hopefully the car is good enough for that.”