Red Bull RB8

The "vent" on the nose looks likely to be ahead of the bulk head. If any photographers get a shot of a nose change on the Red Bull or a picture of the car minus a nose then any ducting will be visible. It looks a little big for a cooling vent and there would need to be a lot of ducting to get it any where near the rear of the car. Quite likely it works at the front of the car. Blown front wing?

 

I think a vent looks a lot better than a step. Still not what you want though.

 

couldn't it be channelled through the chassis? I doubt very much they're solid. It won't give that much extra, but if it's turning drag from the step into downforce for the rear, which has lost some through new exhaust rules, any amount is a bonus. It could simply just channel it out behind the driver. Anyone have a shot of the rear, maybe we can identifiy the exit point (if there is any)

 

RacecarEngineer Racecar Engineering
The bull duct is for driver cooling according to Newey


tedkravitz Ted Kravitz
Just spoke to A Newey, post box slot is primarily for cooling: driver and other parts. He denies it gives RB8 any aero benefit.

 

The whole "blown" thing relies on hot air, very hot air, to make a difference. So unless Seb and Mark have particularly hot feet I doubt that the air from that intake will be of much use to the car.

From the most recent reports RB are denying that there is any great aero advantage here and that it is just there to help cool the drivers.

The top of the car is not really where all the magic happens in F1, the under belly is where it is at anyway, but I suppose, every little helps.

 

http://twitter.com/#!/F1Photographer/status/166890622085632001

 

Are Red Bull bluffing that its not for Aero benefits or are they double bluffing. Either hiding something or trying to waste other teams time on something

 

colling the drivers and 'other parts', if he's telling the truth they did have over heating problems with the KERS last season a few times, and he didn't want to upset his aerodynamics sorting that out, so maybe being forced to alter his aesthetics has made him decide to sort 2 problems at once.

 

I thought the KERS were stored at the back of the car though??

 

andrewbensonf1 Andrew Benson
Adrian Newey says hole in Red Bull nose is "simply driver cooling". Moved it there from front "to break up the aesthetics of the ramp"



"Red Bull design chief Adrian Newey has been discussing his concerns that the banning of exhaust-blown diffusers, last year's must-have technology, might have a disproportionate effect on his team. 'Last year's car was designed around that,' he said, 'whereas perhaps other people copied ours and therefore hadn't designed the car around (it). So if you lose that, it stands to reason perhaps that you might lose more than other people. We've tried to work hard to mitigate that. But it's a lost technology and it can't be reinvented.'"

 

You know it brother!

 

Red Bull haven't recovered 2011 downforce levels yet.

McLaren revealed on Sunday that McLaren also haven't recovered downforce (but they will by Melbourne).

 

Unfortunately we don't know what that means in terms of lap times because Pirelli have changed the tyres.

 

I'm taking everything that they all say with a pinch of salt right now. Too much cloak and dagger stuff going on to have any real idea on where the top players currently stand.

Why can't they all just show us their plumbs and get it over with?

 

Then what would we spend hours contemplating? life? **** that.

 

Fair comment.

 

RBR and Renault seem to have found something.
Francois Caubet, from Renault engines, told the media that the new generation RS27 can afford to start with 15-18 kg less weight at the race-begin than Mercedes or Ferrari powered teams.
Easy to say if thats true, a huge bonus.
On top of that he also said that Renault and RBR have invented some "new, very clever development" to regain lost speed but he wasn't willing to give any details.

 

That sounds very intriguing! Open to all Renault powered teams, or just RBR?

 

Good question, though hard to tell. For me it sounded more like only RBR can take full effect of the "clever invention". The first stuff should be a bonus for all Renault powered teams.

 

I think Forza posted some track side observations after day one, and they said that the Red Bull sounded as if it was still blowing the diffuser.

That fuel saving thing will be a massive boost if Vettel's qualifying near the front again, that's probably worth about half a second at the start of the race.