Red Bull RB7 Renault

[Robbobnob]

Ahh yes i can see your point, the cut out for the exhaust to flow through would make that even weaker...

but again racing incidents are racing incidents and you just got to hope the gods are on your side (maybe a sacrifice to please them)

ass far as loss of down force, i would presume a proportion of the air feeding the diffuser from under the floor would escape, creating a loss of down force for sure

[forty-two]

All true I feel.

But a collision HAS to be at least a design consideration in this above all forms of racing doesn't it?

Martin Brunle last year made a number of comments about how Ferrari got used to building their cars like tanks while MSC was driving for them, and he felt that was why Massa came off OK after that brush with Lewis (I forget where, was it Monza?).

Although, if Red Bull do another "RB6" this year, I guess the only car that's likely to get close will be the other red-bull? I guess a lot depends on the tyres and how well they look after them.

[PlatinumZealot]

You could put a sledge hammer to the side of that exhaust and it won't break. That's almost a 4 inch rectangular section with CFRP all wrapped round it right there. Maybe dent it a bit but it won't break.

[forty-two]

Perhaps a good point, a box section is orders of magnitude stronger than a flat plate, but that's assuming it hasn't been made brittle by heat or made thinner for weight saving.

[Shrieker]

You could put a sledge hammer to the side of that exhaust and it won't break. That's almost a 4 inch rectangular section with CFRP all wrapped round it right there. Maybe dent it a bit but it won't break.

But, will it blend?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OW9j5OyGaw

Doesn't show the aftermath, but the exact same spot forty-two mentioned had completely broken and ripped off from DC's car - if memory serves me correct. Can't really say if it made a huge diference for DC or not(both McLarens were struggling for grip in that corner even before contact). The cars were very different back then too.

[avatar]

Right. Stupid question time. What's the linkage heading from near the Siemens text to the break duct?

Exhaust blown diffuser detail:

Still seems to be the case that no other team appears to be using the rear section to draw more air in from the sides, outside the width of the car to this extent. That profile, effectively leading to a low fin is surely making a lateral area of low pressure, drawing in additional air volume (from outside the normal flow over the car) over the diffuser/beam wing that other teams don't seem to in the same way...

[avatar]

I guess it's the pull rod? (I did say it was a stupid question)

[raymondu999]

If you're talking of the spindly little thing, yes it is

[Muulka]

I was just wondering, what are the benefits of using the Red Bull tiny sidepods, as opposed to the Torro Rosso double floor or the Mclaren L-shape? Does it help draw clean air onto the beam wing and the top of the diffuser? I'd have thought that the other solutions were better for that....

Although, I'm completely new to this, and Newey is a genius (How much I hate him for that lol! McLaren ftw )

[bot6]

Exhaust blown diffuser detail:

Definitely the pull rod. It is positioned much further aft than before, and is much thinner (probably massive titanium rod instead of carbon fiber, to limit section and therefore drag)

[D'Leh]

I think the goal is not to "draw clean air" to the beam wing. All of those concepts cause some turbulence obviously. The question is which concept is best to create a stable flow at the beam wing and diffuser. We'll see I guess. The RB5 and RB6 followed the same concept and it seemed to have worked pretty well, despite them having rather conservative diffusers. Now Newey took it to a new level. Being the genius he is I fear he is spot on.

[Muulka]

I think the goal is not to "draw clean air" to the beam wing. All of those concepts cause some turbulence obviously. The question is which concept is best to create a stable flow at the beam wing and diffuser. We'll see I guess. The RB5 and RB6 followed the same concept and it seemed to have worked pretty well, despite them having rather conservative diffusers. Now Newey took it to a new level. Being the genius he is I fear he is spot on.

...

Anyway, I do think that this car is a work or art, and I'm sure that it will be very fast, but does that exhaust really feed the diffuser that much? It looks from that picture like it's just blowing onto the tyre and that slot, which doesn't go to the diffuser. Or am I just being stupid?

[N12ck]

I think its blowing the side channel of the diffuser

[Owen.C93]

Looks more than 5cm cut out though.

[chapmanlung]

i really like how they place the sponsers just ahead of the suspension, becuase they know that, thats where people will be taking the pictures