Telemetry data visualization of the Scuderia Ferrari and Red Bull top speeds with and without the use of DRS in the qualifying session for the 2022 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix:
Ferrari vs Red Bull: the challenge that fuels the F1 2022 edition. By exploiting the new regulations, the historic Italian team has taken a big step forward. The fight at the top with the Milton Keynes team is total and although the two cars have different characteristics, the performances converge.
Netx we analyze a factor on which the Prancing Horse technicians have worked diligently, to try to correct one of the “weaknesses” of the F1-75 project, an element that in some rounds of the world championship has actually made it easy for Red Bull due to the top speed.
The reduction of drag resulting from the use of the DRS allows to improve acceleration at high speeds and to reach higher maximum speeds. The effects are positive both on the reduction of lap time and on the ability to attack and defend in close combat.
However, although conceptually the operation does not change, the effectiveness of the mobile wing (in terms of drag reduction) varies according to the car and the circuit. In particular, the effect depends on the type of rear: a specific one with a lower (fixed) low load (curvature and angle of attack reduced) and an upper (mobile) high load (curvature and bigger angle of attack), it will generate most of the drag at the top.
Conversely, with a wing with a lower “plane” loaded and the upper one more unloaded, a contribution of the second one will be obtained in terms of greater resistance in proportion to the total drag generated. Consequently, by acting the DRS only on the resistance caused by the upper plane, the first type of rear wing will have a more effective DRS, able to further reduce the resistance of the car when it is opened.
Each car has its own peculiarities in this sense: Red Bull has a lower drag and downforce than Ferrari, which is why it uses heavier wings on average with a greater contribution to the overall resistance of the car and, consequently, greater effectiveness with the DRS. The single-seater from Maranello, on the other hand, has greater drag and downforce: using lighter wings is therefore both a possibility and a necessity which, unfortunately, will generate a lower mobile wing effect.
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We can therefore estimate a -15% of aerodynamic resistance provided by the Ferrari DRS, and a remarkable -19% on the Red Bull mobile device: the difference in maximum speed, already in favor of the RB18 with the DRS closed, therefore, becomes more acute when the system is activated.
Despite the less dense air in Austria, due to the heavier wings the top speed with the mobile wing closed is lower for both cars than in Baku. At Spielberg Red Bull had an advantage of only 1km / h. While when the DRS opens, the blue racing car gains 16km / h against the 19km / h of the Ferrari: the maximum speed difference with the use of the open mobile wing is only 4km / h in favor of Red Bull, the half compared to the 8km / h in Baku!
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