Red Bull RB7 Renault

[forty-two]

Guys, please feel free to shoot this idea down in flames. This is ONLY AN IDEA!

But, what if Red Bull have ALSO got front exiting exhausts? I know we've seen the conventional exhaust outlets at the back of the car, but that doesn't actually prove anything (remember the stickers used last year!).

Thinking about it:
- The bottom few inches of the bodywork around the sidepods is all black, so could quite easily be heat-treated without anyone noticing.
- The RB7 and the Renault both use the same engine.
- There's something unusual going on toward the back of the engine cover (heat shielding) perhaps this is where the exhaust turns 180 under the cover and so comes close to the bodywork
- The Renault and the RB both seem to have vertical strakes mounted on the top of the floor in front of the rear wheels. Could this be to steer hot exhaust gases away (or onto) the tyres?

Totally just an idea, and I have no evidence to support it, but perhaps Renault showing their cards is a good distraction for the guys in Milton Keynes?

[Flanker27]

i don't think that the rear wing actuator is so big..

anyway i wonder why their shark fin is so "squared" and not linked to the wing actuator (similar to last year ferrari shark fin shape, when not running f-duct)

[forty-two]

i don't think that the rear wing actuator is so big..

anyway i wonder why their shark fin is so "squared" and not linked to the wing actuator (similar to last year ferrari shark fin shape, when not running f-duct)

I'm pretty sure that the shark fin is not allowed to make contact with the rear wing any longer. Perhaps the fin you're seeing on the current car will be removed later once they've gathered some data with it fitted. I know there's been a long debate about whether or not a shark fin is actually helpful (at least this was true up until 2010 when the F-Duct arrived).

[segedunum]

There's rumours of a much bigger exhaust update at some point. It would be most unlike Newey not to return to his pet project of exhausts feeding directly into the diffuser.

[forty-two]

There's rumours of a much bigger exhaust update at some point. It would be most unlike Newey not to return to his pet project of exhausts feeding directly into the diffuser.

Or indeed perhaps the planned update is to copy the Renault system and have front exiting exhausts...

[Flanker27]

i don't think that the rear wing actuator is so big..

anyway i wonder why their shark fin is so "squared" and not linked to the wing actuator (similar to last year ferrari shark fin shape, when not running f-duct)

I'm pretty sure that the shark fin is not allowed to make contact with the rear wing any longer. Perhaps the fin you're seeing on the current car will be removed later once they've gathered some data with it fitted. I know there's been a long debate about whether or not a shark fin is actually helpful (at least this was true up until 2010 when the F-Duct arrived).

thanks mate, i missed this change in the rules

[mith]

There's rumours of a much bigger exhaust update at some point. It would be most unlike Newey not to return to his pet project of exhausts feeding directly into the diffuser.

Or indeed perhaps the planned update is to copy the Renault system and have front exiting exhausts...

As we've seen today it's quite tricky to get it to work. Petrov did only 28 laps. If they were planing something as radical, they'd probably start testing and calibrating it as soon as possible.

I'm rather expecting them to surprise us with some way to blow diffuser more effectively than through starter hole.

Of course I might be wrong

[RacingManiac]

Why is their rear wing adjustment thing so big and bulky anyway.....unless that pod serves a different purpose still...

It's sculpted that way to act as an end of shark fin.

Its quite far from the actual fin itself though....

Just seems out of place compare to the rest of the car...

[cobart]

http://adamcooperf1.files.wordpress.com ... g_0050.jpg
look at the top of diffuser ..middle section looks like metal covered...

[i70q7m7ghw]

ROFL. Teams talking about copying Renault's exhaust system when it's not even been proven to work! This is hilarious.

[forty-two]

ROFL. Teams talking about copying Renault's exhaust system when it's not even been proven to work! This is hilarious.

Really? I wouldn't call it hilarious just yet.... interesting, suprising perhaps but not even actually funny just yet IMO.

[pascaljackson]

i dont know if it was already faced,



but what is this hole under the beamwing?

[segedunum]

Well, not as radical as I was expecting without a lower nose and hidden exhausts but I suppose they've got to get the KERS working first. Newey hinted as much that that was where they had to concentrate:

"Packaging is a challenge with KERS and the big challenge is to try and come up with a solution that doesn't compromise the aerodynamics too much, otherwise you drop the performance benefit that you get from putting KERS on."

Curious that this is the same KERS system as in 2009 without any additional power and where many teams couldn't justify the extra weight. Teams are going to have to work hard to make KERS pay overall, but they all have to implement it now because it's so critical to track position.

The rear end is way smaller than RB6 right?

Well, superficially. Now that the additional decks above the diffuser are gone there's a lot of space above the diffuser. It's a branched RB5 rear end really.

Look at where the rear wishbones are connected to the chassis/gearbox!

Does the thing have a gearbox?

I still expect to see the exhausts disappear at some point. They've got a lot of space at the back of that car to do whatever they want. There looks to be some heatproofing around the diffuser that I find curious. I doubt it will be like Renault. I think Renault are trying to recreate the dowforce created when holes were allowed in the floor.

They've certainly hit the ground running. I'd be a tad worried if I was everyone else.

[bonjon1979]

loving how tiny and tight the sidepods and rear end is

Car looks long. Could be because the sidepods are short but still I think it is a very long car. Be interested to see a wheelbase comparison. Any clever bods out there done a comparison yet?

[forty-two]

Curious that this is the same KERS system as in 2009 without any additional power and where many teams couldn't justify the extra weight. Teams are going to have to work hard to make KERS pay overall, but they all have to implement it now because it's so critical to track position.

I assume you mean that the KERS specification is the same as in 2009, as I don't believe Red Bull ever ran KERS in 2009?

If my assumption is correct, I was thinking about this a while back and it occurred to me that actually, now the cars are trundling around with a race-worth of fuel on board, presumably, the weight of the KERS kit is a lower percentage of the car's overall weight? Could it be that this shift in the proportions (overall weight vs KERS) has made the inclusion of KERS less marginal?

Or could it be that the KERS design has improved since 2009, and the weight of the system as a whole is significantly lower? Personally, I don't think battery technology (presumably the heaviest part?) has moved on all that much in 24 months but would be very interested to be told otherwise.

Or finally, could it be that the extra weight the cars are carrying now means that a few extra HP, even for only a few seconds per lap is worth the weight (no pun intended!)?