What Newey notes in his booklet: ‘Red Bull was inspired by slower competitors’

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What Newey notes in his booklet: 'Red Bull was inspired by slower competitors'

While Red Bull Racing is already clearly ahead of the competition in Formula 1, it has drawn inspiration from some slower competitors, the Dutch branch of Motorsport.com noted. Most likely, designer Adrian Newey jotted down all those little things in his notebook during his usual pre-race walk around the grid. Some of those things were already seen in Barcelona on the RB19. Mercedes and Aston Martin also made minor adjustments.

During the Spanish Grand Prix, Red Bull presented a modified wing on the floor edge and a renewed diffuser, clearly looking at the solutions of some competitors. It is likely that Newey noticed these elements during his usual walk around the starting grid, after which the Austrian team developed them and added them to the RB19 with a twist of their own. Since the competitors have already tested the concept, this implies that these solutions improve performance without extensive testing in CFD software or the wind tunnel. That is advantageous, as Red Bull’s time in the wind tunnel is more limited this year due to the penalty for exceeding the 2021 budget cap.

Details on the floor edge and a new diffuser introduced by Red Bull

Several teams have already taken advantage of this and optimized it. Nevertheless, it is not as simple as simply copying the design and placing it on your own car. The concepts must work in harmony with Red Bull’s existing architecture. In this way, the team creates its own branch in the development tree, which will most likely be further optimized during the season. “The wing on the floor edge already has a C-shaped profile at the front, which corresponds to the cut-out in the floor below,” the Dutch medium writes.

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It has long been clear that Newey has an eye for detail (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool/Getty Images)
It has long been clear that Newey has an eye for detail (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool/Getty Images)

“At the back, the winglet sticks out a bit, so a tab has been added to the curved roll section. This tab is intended to help guide the airflow that is exhausted in this particular area of ​​the floor. The top corner of the diffuser has also been modified with an inverted pocket arrangement, similar to several competitors. This change has two effects. First, this changes the internal performance of the diffuser itself. Secondly, it affects the behavior of the airflow over the top corner of the diffuser’, explains the Dutch branch of Motorsport.com.

Has Mercedes taken a step back after all?

“For the Spanish Grand Prix, Mercedes took a step that some could see as a step backwards: the top slat element has been removed from the mirrors. The inner bar is now simply attached to the side of the mirror housing. This change was made to ensure that the airflow behind the transom more closely matches the adjustments made to the sidepods. Previously, the slats caused changes in the airflow around the mirror housing. The team also made adjustments to the side of the diffuser. According to the team, this improves the airflow in the diffuser, which improves the quality of the airflow and increases the local load.’

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The Mercedes W14 on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1)
The Mercedes W14 on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (Photo: Mercedes AMG F1)

“To find the right setup for the W14, Mercedes tested various solutions during Friday practice sessions. With this, the team also tried to learn more about the new aerodynamic package. Both medium downforce and high downforce rear wings were tested during these tests. In the end, the team opted for the high downforce rear wing on Saturday and Sunday. In addition, the team experimented with bodywork that had a larger cooling opening at the rear, but a narrower solution was ultimately chosen during the competitive sessions.’

Aston Martin also has an eye for detail

Aston Martin has got off to a good start this year, but its direct competitors have made significant updates in recent races to close the gap. In response, the British team introduced some new parts during the race in Spain. They have done this because the team does not want to lose ground and is determined to remain competitive. “One of the components of the package is a redesigned front wing. The spanwise distribution of the top two flaps has been adjusted so that they are more even instead of having a wavy section in front of the front tire.” This change brings the wing designs closer to those of other teams.

‘In addition, this has led to more development possibilities on the outside of the wing, with the connection between the flaps and the end plate also being redesigned. In the updated configuration, the second, third and fourth elements of the front wing are all moved further away from the end plate and rotated to create greater outwash than in the previous setup. The notch previously on the third flap has now been moved forward on the second element in the new design. In response to the changes to the front wing, Aston Martin has also adjusted the angle of the camera pods on the side of the nose, as the airflow has changed in this part of the car.

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Aston Martin is also experimenting (Photo: Aston Martin F1)
Aston Martin is also experimenting (Photo: Aston Martin F1)

“At the rear of the AMR23, the latest rear wing specification has been further refined, especially after the Monaco Grand Prix where the biggest changes were introduced. One of the changes is the connection method for the end of the end plate. Instead of merging with the outer edge of the end plate, the end is now turned inwards. This adjustment affects the pressure gradient and therefore the vortices at the tip of the wing. Changes have also been made to the geometry of the inside of the end plate.’

‘It now has a similar connecting line as on the outside, albeit with a slightly steeper curvature. This change not only has direct aerodynamic consequences, but also affects the surrounding surfaces. To take advantage of this, the beam wing has been modified. Although not mentioned in the car presentation document and tested only briefly, there are a few additional elements at the top of the halo that were not discussed. The team probably has plans to introduce a more refined version of these elements in the upcoming races. This is intended to improve airflow around the safety structure and optimize performance at the rear of the car.

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