A place to discuss the characteristics of the cars in Formula One, both current as well as historical. Laptimes, driver worshipping and team chatter do not belong here.
New Front Wing on RB21: The spec introduced here is for high-load tracks and will probably be used in Zandvoort, Singapore, Austin and Mexico, maybe even Brazil if found useful enough. Highly cambered on the outside, Red Bull seem to try to keep smaller upwash along the nose where the air is affecting the floor inlet
It's very different load distribution across the span compared to previous high-load spec seen in Monaco, which features a moderate upwash mid-span
With that 'extremely turned-up' chord length 2/3rds of the way outwards, yes there is going to be more downforce, but what is the penalty in terms of airflow leaving the wing ? I wonder how much is the lateral flow going to increase by : which zone is going to get 'more wash' w.r.t the monaco(?) wing shown in the bottom pic ? inboard towards nose, or outboard towards wheel ?
With that 'extremely turned-up' chord length 2/3rds of the way outwards, yes there is going to be more downforce, but what is the penalty in terms of airflow leaving the wing ? I wonder how much is the lateral flow going to increase by : which zone is going to get 'more wash' w.r.t the monaco(?) wing shown in the bottom pic ? inboard towards nose, or outboard towards wheel ?
Forgot to mention that, thanks. Increased outwash around front wheel should help mitigate losses in that area
From what I observed in FP3, this new front wing has been ditched (possibly as it was completely ruining balance) and the older Monaco wing has gone back to the car. The only change is the uppermost element now has a gurney added.
From what I observed in FP3, this new front wing has been ditched (possibly as it was completely ruining balance) and the older Monaco wing has gone back to the car. The only change is the uppermost element now has a gurney added.
They might have switched to the old wing to rule out the update as the cause of the problems. Since the car didn't perform with either wing, then there's grounds to try it again at a different track.
Nice comparison pic. The spoon depth of mainplane is smaller, even though the camera angles are slightly different (which exaggerates the spoon difference), but what's satisfying to see is the difference in the shape of the flap holder edgepiece at either end - the new ones are more side-washy and have a gentler tip-vortex. Overall, just this camera shot comparison tells me that Redbull can fight for a podium with Ferrari and Mercedes, unlike the disaster of last year, with that high school craft project rear wing made with scissors.
Not sure if this has been mentioned, but apart from track characteristics and the mentioned upgrades Red Bull also fitted the cars with new front brake cooling ducts.
It might not be significant, but the change can be seen in this video here:
To place a perception/observation .... this front wing currently in use, appears to be moving to more dihedral (dihedral in aircraft lift application, but inverted for downforce here) that in greater perceived effect against their competitors.
Unsure if that's true, but as indicated my perception of that geometry in static layout ( not under stress) is moved to more dramatic effect with the outer tips obviously below the centre section under nose. The lowest wing plane also having its leading edge more lifted coming out from that centreline section.
IF so .... that would appear to favour less disturbed and more volume feed toward floor entry architecture and outwash via outboard "barge" strake arrangement.
I've made it clear this being perception of change over this season, this RB21 having noticeable more distance from ground under the immediate centre than the McL39 as reference.
