BWT Racing Point Team excited by potential of RP20 machine ahead of pre-season testing

The BWT Racing Point Team says it had designed its 2020 car from ‘a blank sheet of paper’ as it looks to close the gap to the teams that finished ahead of them last year, namely McLaren, Renault and the renamed Alpha Tauri team.

Speaking before the start of pre-season testing, Technical Director Andrew Green said the team was excited with the design direction of the car, having addressed the certain areas that needed improvement.

“The RP20 is entirely new, meaning that there’s very little carryover from our 2019 car,” commented Green. “For 2020, we designed the car from scratch, starting from almost a blank sheet of paper – which is very exciting, because the team hasn’t been in a position to do this in a very long time. We’ve applied everything that we’ve learnt over the past seasons, combined this with what we’ve seen adopted by some of our competitors, and we’ve given it our best shot at optimising the final season of these present regulations.”

😍 Looking beautiful out there! 😍 #F1 https://t.co/zh6Ljmw91G

— BWT Racing Point F1 Team (@RacingPointF1) February 19, 2020

Green explained that one area in particular needed working on, specifically getting the balance of the car dialled in right on higher downforce circuits, such as Monaco and the Hungaroring.

“In recent seasons, we have had two main weaknesses: our car has had an Achilles heel as far as balance is concerned and we have also struggled on high-downforce circuits,” added Green. “For 2020, I believe we have addressed these two factors. As such, the drivers should notice a significant difference in terms of on-track performance. Both Checo and Lance have already noticed a change in the simulator, so we’re hopeful that this performance will carry over to the track – especially with a strong combination in our driver line-up.”

That first drive with your new ride 😍👌#F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/P1aGFbKVUn

— BWT Racing Point F1 Team (@RacingPointF1) February 19, 2020

Also speaking before the start of testing, team boss Otmar Szafnauer said that the team is better prepared than ever to tackle the challenges of the new season thanks to continued investment and a better in-house capacity at their Silverstone base.

“Our Silverstone base is buzzing with excitement right now and we always enjoy it when we see a new car come to life,” said Szafnauer. “Even though we have more stable regulations for this season, much of the RP20 is new and has a distinct visual difference to its 2019 predecessor. We’ve always been an ambitious team and, with continual investment in infrastructure, we now have a better in-house capacity.

“As such, our expectations are much higher – especially since 2019 was compromised by the hangovers of the previous season and transition of ownership. Following the changes of the last 12 months, we’re no longer held back by some of our old constraints, allowing us to improve performance with efficiency – something that has always been a strength of ours.

“We need to start this season at a much higher level than we did in 2019 and that means right from the first test in Barcelona this week. I’m confident we can do this and our ultimate target is to be at the front of the midfield – but we also intend to end the year closer to third place than fifth.”

Here it is. Away she goes! 👉#F1Testing is… GO GO GO! 🎉 #F1 pic.twitter.com/3BJOMhhoOW

— BWT Racing Point F1 Team (@RacingPointF1) February 19, 2020