The evolution of the victorious RB18 in Baku continues. In Azerbaijan, Milton Keynes’s car was able to count on an important update to the bottom, in particular to the grille and the entrance section of the lateral Venturi channel. Despite the lack of conspicuousness, the changes are decidedly significant, considering how important the underbody is for the purposes of competitiveness. Mattia Binotto himself at the beginning of the year had simplistically stated that the bottom was responsible for about 80/90% of the aerodynamic performancethus inviting them to carefully monitor their developments.
Although the attention of the external observer tends to focus on the evident differences between the cars in terms of sides and suspensions, there are just as many in the lower part of the floor. Unlike the previous generation of cars equipped only with a flat bottom, the current single-seaters are equipped with two curved side Venturi channels. In them the study of curvatures, volumes, vortices and pressure fields is fundamental to ensure not only the maximum possible load generation, but also its stability in all driving conditions. Images of Perez and Sainz’s car recovery operations following the qualifying crash in Monaco provided the best example of how different the bottom design philosophies can be, mirroring the variety of solutions across the top of the car body.
Updates to the fund thus continue to play a central role in the race for development. In detail, in Azerbaijan Red Bull introduced a new inlet section of the lateral Venturi channels. In comparison with Monaco, it can be seen how in the new specification the upper edge is maintained at an almost constant height until it meets the frame, while previously it was declining more decisively towards the bottom. On the RB18 the curvatures and volumes in the rear part of the Venturi duct have thus been modified, at the same time increasing the flow of air in transit. At the same time, the vertical strips of the grid were modified, adapting them to the new geometries of the inlet section.
The technical department led by Pierre Wache and Adrian Newey therefore continues to search for solutions to improve aerodynamic efficiency, already a strong point of the RB18. The updates also come in a particularly critical phase of the championship for direct competition, with the growing competitiveness of Milton Keynes’ single-seater which will put Ferrari in a difficult position in upcoming races. Waiting for the next big package of developments likely to arrive between Silverstone and Austria, the Scuderia di Maranello will have to decide whether to use its power units more aggressively to respond to the increasing performance of the RB18s, increasing however the risk of experiencing new problems. of reliability.
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