Red Bull is putting its maximum effort into trying to put Mercedes in trouble. Since even the Milton Keynes team has no longer brought technical innovations, the challenge has shifted to knowing how to make the most of the solutions available to adapt the characteristics of one’s car to the Jeddah track, a street circuit that however has a worthy average speed. of a fast plant like Silverstone or Spa-Francorchamps.
The game being played in Saudi Arabia is still face down on the table: Mercedes did not mount the super-engine on Lewis Hamilton’s W12 and Red Bull deliberately chose a very cautious Honda power unit mapping for Max Verstappen.
Brackley’s team chose a more charged aerodynamic configuration than the one that the engineers headed by Pierre Waché chose for the second free practice session, when the Dutchman took to the track with a rear wing featuring a main profile with lower resistance to advancement due to a very accentuated spoon shape and thanks to flat side panels without strakes and giving up twisted blowing.
Red Bull Racing RB16B detail of the rear wing used during Free Practice 2 of the Saudi Arabian GP
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Red Bull Racing RB16B detail of the heaviest rear wing used during Free Practice 1 of the Saudi Arabian GP
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
On the mobile flap, on the other hand, we notice the appearance of a conspicuous Nolder, whose effectiveness is manifested only in slow curves, since the flow tends to bypass the Gurney flap beyond a certain speed, while in FP1 this solution was not mounted.
The only 4km / h top speed that separated Max’s RB16B from Mercedes pushed Milton Keynes’s team in the direction of seeking maximum aerodynamic efficiency.
It will be necessary to see what happens in qualifying this afternoon when the drivers are allowed to exploit the maximum engine boost on the black arrows and the speed differences could become more marked. Mercedes’ goal is to bring Valtteri Bottas alongside Lewis, possibly in pole position.
Red Bull wants to make this plan of action fail, counting on Verstappen to be included in the W12. Milton Keynes are convinced that the problem of getting the front tires up to temperature in the first three corners, manifested yesterday by the Dutch driver, will have to be overcome when the track in Jeddah will tire as expected. Every little detail can make a big difference …
Red Bull Racing RB16B, detail of the lighter rear wing chosen by Verstappen in FP2
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
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