Conceptually, the Red Bull RB18 car has always been very extreme, ever since it first hit the track for the pre-season testing sessions. Furthermore, during the entire championship, the technicians led by Adrian Newey were able to move the limit higher than Ferrari. Two very different philosophies, but both competitive.
One of Red Bull’s main advantages was that it has been less sensitive to porpoising. This feature is not attributable to a single specific solution, but rather the result of a series of solutions adopted at the rear to counteract the lowering of the car without affecting performance.
Controlling this phenomenon has translated into a very clear and simple advantage: lowering the car further without encountering the tedious aerodynamic bouncing.
The first mechanical configuration that came to light concerns the skates placed in the most critical area, that is the floor portion in front of the rear wheels. These alloy elements helped to block the bouncing. Later we talked a lot about the floor profile and diffuser design, which were methods specifically designed to avoid producing a generated and localized peak load. Unlike Ferrari and Mercedes, in fact, the Milton Keynes technicians have chosen to generate a vertical thrust essentially distributed along the length, as explained by funoanalisitecnica.com.
With the development of a certain rake angle of the floor, over the course of the championship the engineers were able to lift the rear from the ground, limiting the problem even more. A useful choice to gain some downforce points in the initial area of the floor and at the same time to limit understeer, a problem that affected the RB18 in the first part of the season.
Not to mention the measure adopted to make the T-tray area flexible through specific solutions, adopting a spring-shock absorber group that was have also found on other cars on the grid.
Already at the front Red Bull had surprised us, as they chose to use a single front arm to connect the two upper triangles. A choice dictated by the desire to compensate for a roll center that is further away from the center of gravity in height, a factor which determines a less rigid suspension.
Moreover, the solution helps for stability under braking as it gives rise to a real anti-dive effect, with a multi-link suspension that better controls its movements.
From a purely “external” point of view, we have carefully examined the Austrian racing cars, as they have launched for 2022 a suspension configuration opposite to most of the cars on the grid, adopting a front pull rod and a rear push rod scheme.
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Much has been said about the budget cap issue and the respective benefits available to a team like Red Bull. A non-compliance that may generate some sanctions. The cause-effect mechanism summarized in the following images shows the potential punishments. We still have to use the conditional, because it remains difficult to judge how this overrun of the budget cap could have affected the real performance of the cars.
The team that is preparing to win constructors world championship plays the role of the ‘wrongly accused’, with Ferrari and Mercedes involved in this particular battle, ready to point the finger without trial. In short, the course of justice is awaited. However, on the sidelines of the facts, a final reflection must necessarily be made that includes the present and past scenario.
Infringements and related fines of the Financial Regulation.
The violations estimated at 5% also concern the 2021 championship, a season in which Max Verstappen, on a tightrope, won his first world title of his career against Lewis Hamilton after a very close battle.
By studying the F1-75 we have often highlighted the very clear idea of the Maranello team: not to make the design and development of the entire car too complex. While Red Bull, as mentioned, has launched alternatives that required many hours of work between test bench, simulations and track tests to be made effective. Mercedes has brought a concept of miniaturized sidepods, but it turns out to be among the few very expensive solutions we could note.
At this point, does claiming that the political power assumed in recent years by Christian Horner and company has influenced the International Federation become that far fetched?
Unfortunately, the FIA now seems to have a common practice: hiding one’s mistakes by minimizing situations. We remind you that, even if we are talking about “only” 5 million, the value is quite large considering the very similar fixed costs of the teams, while for single-seaters the figures used generally remain below 70 million.
These fateful 5 million, therefore, could be worth much more if dedicated entirely to the development of the car. Can we therefore think that part of last season’s additional budget was dedicated to 2022?
FUnoAnalisiTecnica, moreover, through informal chats in the paddock with the direct sources of other teams, reports about various discontent which confirm some rumors that have been circulating during the last months on alleged updates that have “escaped” the federation.
In the very last instance a thought: although a clear truth may once again not exist, a clear fact emerges overwhelmingly: the great confusion of the FIA, if we want to define it that way …
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