Adrian Newey does not surrender to Ferrari’s technical superiority. Also at Paul Ricard, Milton Keynes’s team brought some news to update the RB18, but the attention went more to the details of the fund rejected by Max Verstappen after the problems that emerged in Austria with the exaggerated wear of the tires, rather than the main modification appeared in France.
In the rear of the RB18, the umpteenth version of the beam wing appeared, the lower wing that made a comeback with the 2022 regulation. Almost all of them had chosen two overlapping “roller shutter” profiles, not Newey who, instead, he had chosen two horizontal elements which in some appointments became single to reduce the resistance to advancement.
Red Bull RB18: the initial beam wing biplane compared to that of the “roller shutter” competition
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Red Bull RB18: the single beam wing that was seen in Austria
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
In France, a further evolution made its debut that takes the concept to the extreme: to begin with, we can say that Red Bull has interpreted the rules (the two profiles are in the volume authorized by the FIA regulations) in the most extensive way possible, because the RB18 in the rear in fact has a triplane.
Red Bull RB18: here is the new beam wing that debuted in France
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The upper element of the beam wing features a long rope, but low caster: this profile is powered by the more energized flow coming from an engine hood that has been very flared below the car’s waistline with a clear purpose. which is to help extract the air from the rear extractor.
And from the image of Motorsport Images it can be observed how the lower profile of the beam wing has become nothing more than the continuation of the rear diffuser: this is a solution that probably needs a specific fine-tuning, but which could allow Red Bull to generate more load aerodynamic without paying in terms of efficiency.
Red Bull RB18: the narrower engine hood at the bottom and the hot air vent higher
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The introduction of the bodywork with narrow sides in the engine cover, which led to moving the hot air vents higher, was therefore aimed at introducing the new beam wing and we would not be surprised if, consequently, it should arrive also a future evolution of the fund.
Newey did not expect a Ferrari capable of remaining so competitive over the course of the championship and is firing all its cartridges to regain a technical leadership that he cares a lot about, especially after an important regulatory change such as that of the introduction of ground-effect single-seaters that English knows by heart.
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