Red Bull RB18

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Those front wing flaps are unusual for RB. It's likely to be the 2023 part that was reported they were testing with max in fp1. Read somewhere else Max was running different front wing to Checo in Fp1 & this isn't the front wing that either of them ended up racing with (nor, I think, have they raced with it anywhere else) so seems to add up

[AR3-GP]

https://i.imgur.com/9SePRbN.png

Those front wing flaps are unusual for RB. It's likely to be the 2023 part that was reported they were testing with max in fp1. Read somewhere else Max was running different front wing to Checo in Fp1 & this isn't the front wing that either of them ended up racing with (nor, I think, have they raced with it anywhere else) so seems to add up

What do you find unusual about it? Is it the trim on the trailing edge of the rearward flaps?

[organic]

https://i.imgur.com/9SePRbN.png

Those front wing flaps are unusual for RB. It's likely to be the 2023 part that was reported they were testing with max in fp1. Read somewhere else Max was running different front wing to Checo in Fp1 & this isn't the front wing that either of them ended up racing with (nor, I think, have they raced with it anywhere else) so seems to add up

What do you find unusual about it? Is it the trim on the trailing edge of the rearward flaps?

Yeah the trailing edge shape on the uppermost element is unusual to me. Don't remember them using this shape at any GP?

[Stu]

It is quite AMG/Mercedes in form, I wonder if it is a development aimed at altitude tracks to increase the front axle load for little additional drag.

[Blackout]

The side pod undercut is looking more like a double floor style sidepod now... but can't really say 100%

First thing I thought when I saw the side-on pic above is that it was somehow reminding me of Aston Martins original 2022 design.

I think it's just the sheer volume of exposed floor at the front giving that impression.

Their radiators underside is almost empty because they are using the blue area between the driver's ass & the boat tip to package as much systems (electronics etc) as possible (while other teams rely more on the sidepods). And their blue area is certainly bigger than other cars since RB has pushed the cockpit far rearwards, hence the big sidepod undercuts on the RB...
Their blue area looks busier than others, inside, and they even put some (big) electronic devices inside the floor's leading edges.
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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fe3Ji5_XEAE ... ame=medium
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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fes_aRdXEAA ... name=large
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And they narrowed down the boat's front, to have bigger tunnel entries etc, thanks to that cockpit position IMO.
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https://i.imgur.com/vYGCiw4.jpg

That cockpit position also give them the possibility to place the lower impact structure further back inside the floor edge (a better option than to place it in the sidepod IMO) & have more room for the floor mouth...
This right side pic shows RB is using that room to package even more stuff (an engine header tank or an engine gas tank or a fire extinguisher tank)



The next question is whether this cockpit position pushes the PU, (the heaviest part of the car), backwards, and whether it can be avoided or mitigated by widening the fuel tank...
(Red arrow is where the lower side impact structure is)

* could this be the reason the RB is overweight? maybe they are forced to add even more ballast to the front of the car to counterbalance the heavy rear (due to the backward PU?) and meet the mandated mass distribution...


Nextgen-Auto

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https://i.imgur.com/9SePRbN.png

Those front wing flaps are unusual for RB. It's likely to be the 2023 part that was reported they were testing with max in fp1. Read somewhere else Max was running different front wing to Checo in Fp1 & this isn't the front wing that either of them ended up racing with (nor, I think, have they raced with it anywhere else) so seems to add up

was Perez actually who was using this front wing with the weird trailing edge flap. probably just a potentially less oversteering setup option which Perez elected not to use in the end.

[organic]

Mexico rear end showing slightly taller cooling exit. But they closed the exit behind the sharkfin that was open in Hungary and Singapore. They also used the lower downforce beam wing configuration at Mexico, so they weren't running as much downforce as at Hungary or Singapore, interestingly. Maybe with the larger cooling exit, the larger lower BW element with the lower AOA upper BW element protecting the lower one from exhaust gases is more efficient than the stacked, standard arrangement used at Hungary/S'pore

Comparison with Hungary:



Comparison with Singapore:

[AR3-GP]

Maybe they didn't run the other beam wing for aero balance reasons.

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Newey: Weight problems almost embarrassing

It's no secret that he Red Bull RB18 was well over the minimum weight at the start of the season. In the current issue of 'auto motor und sport', Adrian Newey reveals: "The tyres were heavier than expected, the hubcaps, the side crash structure."

"We thought we would be close to the weight limit. In fact, we were way over it. It was almost embarrassing," admits Newey, who reports, "Then we had a problem creating the side crash and had to reinforce the structure there on the chassis."

"On top of that, we were short with design and production of the mechanical parts because we had spent a long time looking after last year's car. [...] Some parts, such as the fairing, ended up being too heavy because they had been cobbled together in a hurry," said Newey.

[organic]

A gurney was fixed to the rear of the engine cover for the mexico race.

For more downforce or for better exhaust extraction (and thereby cooling)?

[marcel171281]

For more downforce or for better exhaust extraction (and thereby cooling)?

More air extraction from under the engine cover.

[ispano6]

[Stu]

I think that the one labelled heave suspension is not quite right; I believe that it is more of a ride height control (still a spring, but capable of being pre-loaded). In roll, it allows the main torsion bars to be de-coupled. In two-wheel bump, it holds the torsion bars in place, under high two-wheel loads it can ‘collapse’ at a precise load, while still controlling the torsion bars.
In a roll situation the ARB is stiff enough to effectively de-couple the torsion bars.

To all intents it makes the rear axle work like a beam axle with a transverse spring and ‘heavy’ anti-roll bar (something similar to a Pro-Mod drag racer).
Mr Newey was heavily involved in the rear suspension; presumably the starting point was “how do we mechanically create the wonderful AMG hydraulic suspension system?”.

[MadMax]

What is the path for the connection between the ARB and the rockers? Or is the ARB taking input from an intermediary location on the torsion bar?

[henry]

I think that the one labelled heave suspension is not quite right; I believe that it is more of a ride height control (still a spring, but capable of being pre-loaded). In roll, it allows the main torsion bars to be de-coupled. In two-wheel bump, it holds the torsion bars in place, under high two-wheel loads it can ‘collapse’ at a precise load, while still controlling the torsion bars.
In a roll situation the ARB is stiff enough to effectively de-couple the torsion bars.

To all intents it makes the rear axle work like a beam axle with a transverse spring and ‘heavy’ anti-roll bar (something similar to a Pro-Mod drag racer).
Mr Newey was heavily involved in the rear suspension; presumably the starting point was “how do we mechanically create the wonderful AMG hydraulic suspension system?”.

Yes, I think the torsion bar abutment is free to rotate under the control of that element.