In the first two races of the year, the RB19 showed a tendency to understeer, a problem also shared with the RB18, albeit more pronounced and dictated at the time by an excess of weight towards the front. In 2023 Red Bull has always managed to find the right set-up in time for the race, in fact winning two doubles in as many races. However, this didn’t distract the Milton Keynes team from working on aerodynamics to reduce compromise choices during the set-up phase. For this reason, the RB19 showed up in Melbourne with a new front wing.
Front load search
The new wing differs from the previous one in two areas. First is the outer endplate bulkhead, which is now much more curved than before. More than to increase the local load, the modification was designed to better manage the flows diverted outside the front wheels to mitigate turbulence, so as to reduce the loss of performance from the bottom. The second change, the most evident, concerns the adjustable section of the two upper profiles of the wing. Flaps feature now greater incidence and chordunleashing more load on the front axle.
In Red Bull’s intent, the new front wing will increase the set-up options, so that with more load on the front, understeer can be easily combated, without necessarily compromising the mechanical set-up of the suspension. The whole thing could also allow you to increase the load on the rear without fear of aerodynamic imbalances, improving tire management even further in the race. Verstappen and Perez contested the Friday sessions in Melbourne with two different configurations, with the Mexican equipped with the new front wing, the low downforce beam-wing from Jeddah and the high downforce rear wing from Bahrain. The impression is that Red Bull is still comparing the new wing with the old version, studying how to effectively find the optimal balance.
New at the rear
However, the RB19 of Australia also features small updates to the rear. The air intakes of the rear brakes have been modified, repositioning the upper flap, now located higher. Red Bull is looking for a different compromise between the management of the local flow in the delicate area of the diffuser and the flow of air channeled into the brake cooling ducts, which also impacts on tire temperature management.
Overall, Red Bull takes advantage of the first updates to try to cure what is currently one of the few ills of the RB19: understeer. After the first free practice however, Verstappen and Perez did not appear satisfied with the balance of the car. It will be important to observe whether the new front wing will be confirmed for qualifying and the race and whether its possible exclusion will be due to the ineffectiveness of the updates or rather to a component that was only brought to Australia to be tested before the break.
#Red #Bull #updates #wing #cure #understeer #FormulaPassion.it