It’s only Friday, but during the free practice sessions, we’ve seen a different script than usual. While we were used to seeing Red Bull’s dominance right from the start, today, the Milton Keynes team seemed to be struggling. The RB19 didn’t feel comfortable, and both drivers complained of rear instability, especially during braking. Red Bull’s difficulties in Singapore coincide with the introduction of the new technical directive , which impacts the flexibility of aerodynamic components. Is there a correlation between these two events, or is it simply a matter of an incorrect setup on the RB19 single-seater?
Red Bull brought updates for the Singapore GP, including a new rear wing and, more importantly, a new floor. It’s this new floor that could be causing the problems encountered by Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
Indeed, looking at the two RB19s on the track, they appear to be running with a higher ride height than usual. This, of course, is not beneficial as it reduces the airflow beneath the car and, consequently, leads to a loss of aerodynamic downforce. We don’t know if this choice is due to specific setup requirements or if they want to avoid damaging the new floor immediately since both drivers have only one available. According to some rumors, however, it seems that the new technical directive TD018 might be behind Red Bull’s difficulties.
How does the change in TD018 slow down Red Bull?
The floor is a crucial part of a Formula 1 car, and even small modifications can have a significant impact on performance. It’s said that Red Bull had the skid split into three parts to make it flex at specific points and avoid FIA sensor measurements. To clarify, until before Singapore, this solution was “legal” as it was in a somewhat gray area of the regulations. The new technical directive now expressly prohibits relative movement between adjacent aerodynamic components. So, the floor must behave like a rigid body. It’s no longer possible to have divisions and zones that deform differently from each other. The doubt that may arise now is that Red Bull may not want to damage the new floor specification since it would be the only one “legal” and compliant with the new technical directive. Furthermore, losing a “flexible” platform means losing both aerodynamic load and adjustment possibilities.
Naturally, this is just a hypothesis, and Perez and Verstappen’s difficulties could be related only to incorrect setup choices. However, there were rumors that the new directive that came into effect in Singapore would have an impact on some teams, including Red Bull. One thing is certain: throughout the year, we have never seen an RB19 in such difficulty and so challenging to drive. We’ll see if they can analyze the data overnight, understand the problem, and turn the situation around for tomorrow’s qualifying.
Source: f1ingenerale
Leave a Reply