F1 | Red Bull: slits reopened despite the Chinese chill

The RB20 demonstrated a clear technical superiority: when the Dutchman took the lead and found himself in free air, he managed to create a gap on his pursuers with a pace of over a second per lap, enough to overtake Lewis Hamilton with the Mercedes and distanced him by more than 13 seconds at the checkered flag of 19 laps.

There is one aspect which, however, deserves to be analysed: despite the low temperatures in Shanghai (20 degrees in the air and 27 on the asphalt this morning), the Milton Keynes team reopened the hot air vents on the sides of the bazooka which had been closed in Suzuka and which were also closed during yesterday's only free practice session in China.

Furthermore, Red Bull has also opened the hardly visible slits that vent the heat in the concave part of the bazooka, a sign that, despite what the Milton Keynes technicians are saying, the need to keep certain power temperatures under control remains Honda RBPT H002 unit.

It is true that the Japanese company's unit requires less cooling than other engines, but it seems clear that, above all, in the service radiators of the power unit there is a need to guarantee good heat extraction, despite the engine temperatures. environment are decidedly fresh compared to F1 standards.

Soon in qualifying we will check whether, after the information collected in the Sprint Race, there could be a more aggressive attitude for the rest of the race weekend, or whether the staff directed by Pierre Waché will maintain a conservative approach, paying attention to the reliability of the systems, having noted a predictable superiority of the RB20. In fact, the reopening of the parc fermé this year allows the technicians to work on the single-seaters.