By Carlo Platella
Ferrari calls, Red Bull responds. In Barcelona the top two teams in the championship both bring updates, awaiting the next news in the pipeline for Mercedes and McLaren. The modifications of the world champions affect the bodywork and rear wing, continuing the work undertaken with the previous package of Suzuka, in search of better aerodynamic and cooling efficiency.
New mouths
For years the vents and the cooling system in general they are the subject of great attention from Red Bull, resulting in the eight-vent scheme developed for the RB20. As already happened in Japan, the Milton Keynes team is also renewing its configuration in Spain. What has changed are the thin vertical sockets located on the sides of the passenger compartment, which now have a slightly wavy shape. A little further up it is possible to appreciate a touch-up to the bodywork surrounding the horizontal vents.
Red Bull tries to improve the quantity and quality of the air caught at the center of the car, playing with the inlet pressure to improve the cooling of the internal components without resorting to large vents in the rear bodywork. In fact, new bonnet panels also debut on the RB20 in Barcelona, with a grille configuration similar to that seen in Imola, despite the higher temperatures experienced in Catalonia. The most important change, however, concerns the rear vent at the rear of the car, redesigned compared to the specification used in previous events, including the Monaco Grand Prix.
Not just cooling
The work carried out on the RB20 would lead one to think that the focus in Milton Keynes is entirely on the cooling system. However, heat dissipation always exists a question of compromise with aerodynamic efficiency, both in terms of the external shapes of the bodywork and the resistance generated by the passage of flows inside the single-seater. Already in 2023 the Anglo-Austrian team focused development on this compromise, evolving the bodywork and air intakes with increasingly larger proportions.
Even in Barcelona the changes made to the cooling of the RB20 proceed hand in hand with the refinement of the bellies. The depth of the excavation under the sides has further increased, facilitating the flow of flows along the lower part of the bodywork towards the bottom, with greater transport of energy for the benefit of the performance of the diffuser. The tradeoff between efficiency-cooling becomes even more important with the arrival of the summer season and races such as Spain, Austria and Hungary, which are particularly critical due to temperatures.
Rear touch-up
In Barcelona, Red Bull also makes small changes to the rear wing. What changes is the lower part of the external bulkheads of the endplates, slightly open towards the outside. It was like that It is possible to widen the beam-wing profilesoffering a larger surface area to generate downforce.
Overall the Spanish one embodies an important package for Red BulL, although not as extensive as that of Ferrari, which instead also made major changes to the fund. However, further innovations are expected for the world champions in view of Silverstone, which are fundamental to continuing to be the reference car on the grid.
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