Red Bull RB22

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.
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AR3-GP
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Re: Red Bull RB22

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The PU packaging is insane. :shock:
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djos
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Re: Red Bull RB22

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AR3-GP wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 01:08
The PU packaging is insane. :shock:
It's impressive! there is just no wasted space at all!
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Brahmal
Brahmal
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Re: Red Bull RB22

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djos wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 00:42
Here’s some RB22 photos I took last night. The brake calliper in bits is very cool. It’s a shame Imgur doesn’t let you post the full res photo.

Plus one of the RedBull team showing off last years steering wheel.

https://imgur.com/gallery/redbull-rb22- ... gp-h1VgkDV
The central intake "hump" seems to have some mechanical components on top, when I would have assumed it to be filled with ducting. I wonder what's going on there?
Last edited by Brahmal on 07 Mar 2026, 06:59, edited 1 time in total.

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djos
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Re: Red Bull RB22

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Brahmal wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 05:04
djos wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 00:42
Here’s some RB22 photos I took last night. The brake calliper in bits is very cool. It’s a shame Imgur doesn’t let you post the full res photo.

Plus one of the RedBull team showing off last years steering wheel.

https://imgur.com/gallery/redbull-rb22- ... gp-h1VgkDV
The central intake "hump" seems to have some mechanical components on top, what I would have assumed it to be filled with ducting. I wonder what's going on there?
To me, it looks like high pressure air bottles, possibly for the pneumatic valve system? Here's a fully zoomed in image showing what look like air lines and COPV pressure vessels.

Image

PS, if anyone wants to use my images, you are more than welcome.
Last edited by djos on 07 Mar 2026, 23:42, edited 5 times in total.
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euv2
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Re: Red Bull RB22

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Badger
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Re: Red Bull RB22

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djos wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 01:14
AR3-GP wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 01:08
The PU packaging is insane. :shock:
It's impressive! there is just no wasted space at all!
Nice. This one is really good.
Image They've lowered the engine so much that the central cooling is floating high above. Feels like there could be some CoG improvements there.

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ME4ME
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Re: Red Bull RB22

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AR3-GP wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 01:08
The PU packaging is insane. :shock:
And finally we see the sidepod radiator orientation, nice and traditional :mrgreen:

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AR3-GP
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Re: Red Bull RB22

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Badger wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 16:49
djos wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 01:14
AR3-GP wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 01:08
The PU packaging is insane. :shock:
It's impressive! there is just no wasted space at all!
Nice. This one is really good.
https://i.postimg.cc/25sbZns7/rb22engine.jpg They've lowered the engine so much that the central cooling is floating high above. Feels like there could be some CoG improvements there.
I don't have any special insight to this design or calculations to back it up, but it seems inefficient to dump the intercooler exhaust air out on top of the engine. Then it must turn 90 degrees and go out the back of the engine cover just from the pressure differential. It looks inefficient. It is also heating the engine and vice versa. The engine heat radiates upwards and warms the intercooler.

I'm a much bigger fan of Mclaren's system where the radiator that is mounted above the engine is fed from the lower face and the exhaust air is channeled upwards into a tunnel created between the back of the radiator and the top of the engine cover. This also means that the air leaving the radiator only convects and radiates heat upwards towards the top of the engine cover, and not down on to the engine.

Red Bull's air-air intercooler is bulky so maybe they didn't want to do this for CoG reasons.
Image
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venkyhere
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Re: Red Bull RB22

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AR3-GP wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 17:15
Red Bull's air-air intercooler is bulky so maybe they didn't want to do this for CoG reasons.
large dimensioned air-to-air IC with no additional weight v/s smaller dimensioned water-to-air IC with additional water weight -- hard to tell which will have more weight, isn't it ?

vorticism
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Re: Red Bull RB22

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djos wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 00:42
Here’s some RB22 photos I took last night. The brake calliper in bits is very cool. It’s a shame Imgur doesn’t let you post the full res photo.

Plus one of the RedBull team showing off last years steering wheel.

https://imgur.com/gallery/redbull-rb22- ... gp-h1VgkDV
Excellent photos, thank you. Giving Sutton, Carpentiers, Gasquez, Fabregas a run for their money. Maybe we can have you follow the circus around for the rest of the season :)

The engine photo shows how much space has been saved eliminating the VLIM. Looks somewhat low profile like this now:

Image
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lio007
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Re: Red Bull RB22

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Badger wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 16:49
djos wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 01:14
AR3-GP wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 01:08
The PU packaging is insane. :shock:
It's impressive! there is just no wasted space at all!
Nice. This one is really good.
https://i.postimg.cc/25sbZns7/rb22engine.jpg They've lowered the engine so much that the central cooling is floating high above. Feels like there could be some CoG improvements there.
MGUK not LHS.

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djos
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Re: Red Bull RB22

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vorticism wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 18:44
djos wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 00:42
Here’s some RB22 photos I took last night. The brake calliper in bits is very cool. It’s a shame Imgur doesn’t let you post the full res photo.

Plus one of the RedBull team showing off last years steering wheel.

https://imgur.com/gallery/redbull-rb22- ... gp-h1VgkDV
Excellent photos, thank you. Giving Sutton, Carpentiers, Gasquez, Fabregas a run for their money. Maybe we can have you follow the circus around for the rest of the season :)

The engine photo shows how much space has been saved eliminating the VLIM. Looks somewhat low profile like this now:

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com ... ipo=images
Hehe, thank you. If only I could afford to do that. :D
"In downforce we trust"

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SiLo
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Re: Red Bull RB22

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Ft5fTL wrote:
06 Mar 2026, 17:25
SiLo wrote:
06 Mar 2026, 02:40
Doesn’t this inner tunnel quickly ramp down to a flat floor? I think people aren’t getting that there isn’t a tunnel all the way along the floor there.
We use very similar ruleset here on the MVRC. Ofcourse im not %100 sure that the mandatory surface areas are the same so need clarification about it. There is some kind a loophole on the rules on our challenge that kinda allows some extension on the leading edge with an aggresive turning vane that kinda reminds last years floor leading edge. The only requisite for this kinda design is tightly packaging on the stepped area.

Here is an example image. The highlighted part is the RS-FLOOR-STEP part.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachment ... y=lossless
Image not loading for me. Can you host it somewhere else? (Not Imgur, it’s blocked in the UK)
Felipe Baby!

vorticism
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Re: Red Bull RB22

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djos wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 23:10
vorticism wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 18:44
djos wrote:
07 Mar 2026, 00:42
Here’s some RB22 photos I took last night. The brake calliper in bits is very cool. It’s a shame Imgur doesn’t let you post the full res photo.

Plus one of the RedBull team showing off last years steering wheel.

https://imgur.com/gallery/redbull-rb22- ... gp-h1VgkDV
Excellent photos, thank you. Giving Sutton, Carpentiers, Gasquez, Fabregas a run for their money. Maybe we can have you follow the circus around for the rest of the season :)

The engine photo shows how much space has been saved eliminating the VLIM. Looks somewhat low profile like this now:

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com ... ipo=images
Hehe, thank you. If only I could afford to do that. :D
Yeah, any number becomes large once you multiply it by twenty. Observations from your engine photo:

--carat > side radiator layout
--low profile intake manifold which provides the necessary evacuation room beneath their intercooler
--low CoG (no centerline water coolers, only an empty aluminum air-air intercooler, itself mounted lower than the halo, facilitated by their intake manifold
--various air tanks stored atop centerline influx duct--smart, as they only store air i.e. they're empty
--all water cooling is low at the sides of the monocoque--not only providing a lower water cooler mass but it also places the total water cooler mass much further forward than cars relying on centerline watercooling

These new regs gave them the opportunity to empty out the space above the engine and transmission, and they took it. Now its just a few empty thin-wall CF & Alu vessels up there.

Image
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AR3-GP
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Re: Red Bull RB22

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Why is there so much "luggage" on top of the Mercedes PU, compared to RBPT? I already heard a month ago (before seeing the pictures) that PU packaging on the DM01 was a sight to behold compared to the other manufacturers. Seeing the pictures, I would agree.

Image
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