Now, THAT is what I call "dirty air" ...BreezyRacer wrote:Need a little more .. pass a little gas!
Now, THAT is what I call "dirty air" ...BreezyRacer wrote:Need a little more .. pass a little gas!
The R30 is very close to Mercedes in terms of performance: can we overtake them in the coming weeks?
I think we can because at the moment they’re only just ahead of us on qualifying pace, whereas we seemed to have the edge on race pace in Malaysia. We will have more updates in China, including a new floor and an alternative front wing. Although this might not be enough to get ahead of Mercedes in qualifying trim, it should move us closer to their tail. And if we can jump ahead of them at the start of a race, I’m confident we have the pace to stay ahead.
How aggressive is this year’s development programme compared to, say, 2009 or previous years?
We have made no secret of our intention to develop our car aggressively during 2010. Aggressive development means having effective ideas and getting them to the track as fast as possible. Our current rate of aerodynamic development is at an all-time high; it’s at least double that of last year. The factory is also pulling out all the stops to get our ideas to the car in around half the time compared with last year.
How much of an asset is the team’s CFD facility in developing the R30?
It’s a fundamental component of any aero department nowadays and without it we simply couldn’t develop the car at our current pace. At the moment, CFD-derived projects are providing more than half of the aerodynamic gains that eventually end up on the car.
Does the team have mechanical improvements planned as well as the aero upgrades?
For any F1 team, the design and in-season development of a car is dominated by improvements to the aerodynamics because it has the biggest impact on performance. But there are still many mechanical projects underway, such as suspension and brake developments. They don’t grab the headlines because they are usually an accumulation of many dozens of small things and are not as visible as an aerodynamic upgrade.
Meet Mistral - RF1 supercomputer http://my.renaultf1.com/profiles/blogs/ ... stral-rf1sBlackout wrote:James Allison :
How much of an asset is the team’s CFD facility in developing the R30?
It’s a fundamental component of any aero department nowadays and without it we simply couldn’t develop the car at our current pace. At the moment, CFD-derived projects are providing more than half of the aerodynamic gains that eventually end up on the car.
Again we saw Renault as the best of the midfield teams and one which brings developments on a race by race basis.
For Malaysia the team brought new pod wings and bargeboards. These are a smaller gain than those found with the new front and rear wings in Australia. The top section of pod wing is similar to the old design, but the lower section curved inwards over the floor, taking a line close to that of the undercut in the sidepods. Allied to the new bargeboard just inboard of the pod wing these parts aims are twofold; firstly the flow around the side of the car, but probably more importantly they alter the pressure distribution under the car, improving downforce from the diffuser.
New Pod wings and bargeboard for Renault in Malaysia
Just as in Australia, it was Petrov’s retirement that allowed the clearest views yet of the Renault complex diffuser. Its never been clear since the Bahrain diffuser update, what the function was of the of two upper diffuser exits, equally shots of Petrov’s car being craned showed a longitudinal slot arrangement under the car. It is now clear that the team have designed a diffuser with a split upper deck, effectively making two pairs of exit on each side of the car above the normal diffuser.
This is akin to McLaren or Force India’s diffuser. As they seek to create the largest diffuser outlet, with the steepest possible angle within the confines of the bodywork rules. So we can see two exits one above and one below the beam wing, these are fed by a large opening under the car. This opening starts between the engine and gearbox and creates such a large inlet, that the team have added this longitudinal flap in the resulting hole to manage airflow up into the diffuser. To my knowledge this approach is unique in F1 and must be a part of the Renaults early season pace.
A huge diffuser (yellow) is fed by a large opening under the floor aided by two longitudinal flaps.
It joins endplate in place where is "N" letterraymondu999 wrote:I could be wrong, but ever since they debuted that front wing, I don't see the cascade touching the endplates. It's like it's just suspended by that spindly column in the middle.
From confidential-renault.fr:spaman wrote:Some questions concerning the R30:
As the Team has said, they won´t develop an F-Duct system, since they have worked out an specific solution for themselves.