Red Bull RB7 Renault

[godlameroso]

If you look carefully you can just make out the path of the hot air coming from the cooling duct, it looks like the rooster tail that cars make as they pass water.

Would the rear wing work better if it was a few mm lower in the air stream?

[donskar]

According to autosport.com:

Horner said the team had taken KERS off the car

Does anyone have any definitive info on whether the KERS unit was physically removed ("taken . . . off the car")or merely disconnected? There would be a big difference, IMO.

[Richard]

Christian Horner said in a post race interview that KERS was run in FP on Friday, but was removed for Sat & Sun. He said it was because “Adrian being Adrian, didn’t want to compromise the performance of the car”. He also said that they had gone to great lengths to get very tight packaging for aero performance and KERS would have reduced the aero performance. I presumed he was referring to the space required under the engine cover for cooling. The peeling paintwork would indicate that heat under the engine cover is at the limit.

I guess the KERS bodywork would have larger sidepod inlets, more space under the body, extra radiators/heat exchangers and the larger exit.

the KERS is situated forwards of the engine (if your to believe the video even with all its inconsistencies)

Robbobnob – the tech rules mandate that all teams place their KERS unit in front of the engine. I’d prefer it that they were allowed to place it where they like so we get a bit more variety. However the FIA wanted a bit of stability when it was introduced and to avoid an arms race. The intention was for the rules to be opened up as the technology became more established.

[bot6]

Vettel said it was in the car but not used.

[FW17]

I think this is total BS from CH, SV and others from RBR.

RB7 like RB5 does not have KERS. They do not believe in advantage of it, they design philosophy is get to the front and stay in front.

The furthest RBR got to KERS is putting stickers on the car.

[bot6]

I'm pretty sure they have both options, as it would be logical with the two different engine covers (one with the big hole, one with the small hole). I think they will systematically try both on the friday mornings and choose the best option for each race after FP1.

[BreezyRacer]

I think this is total BS from CH, SV and others from RBR.

RB7 like RB5 does not have KERS. They do not believe in advantage of it, they design philosophy is get to the front and stay in front.

The furthest RBR got to KERS is putting stickers on the car.

Anything like maybe .. PROOF??????????????

[myurr]

I think this is total BS from CH, SV and others from RBR.

RB7 like RB5 does not have KERS. They do not believe in advantage of it, they design philosophy is get to the front and stay in front.

The furthest RBR got to KERS is putting stickers on the car.

Demonstrably false as they were using it in free practice. Hell of a ruse to go through to build the system, get it installed and working in the car, all just to trick a few people.

[Richard]

Here's a useful RB and McL comaprison. You can drag the divider back and forth to compare each car.

The rear wings and airbox are mandated at the same heights from underside of tub in the rules. The reason they differ in the pics is because of suspension travel.

As we saw last year, the RB has a much higher steeper pitch than other cars.

http://mclarenf-1.com/index.php?page=srs&s=5

Thanks to kakogohrena for the link =D>

[ringo]

The Kers cooling, not the balance is probably their gripe.
I think they will use it in the future though, maybe they will add some fins like mercedes have done.
From the outset though i was wondering how in the world they packaged the kers cooling. It could be possible they pushed it to the limit and realized it's best not to run the risk of a overheating kers.
The car doesn't seem to have much volume in the side pods to cool KERS.

[raymondu999]

Ringo, which fins are you talking about? Are you perhaps talking of vents rather than fins?

[ringo]

Ringo, which fins are you talking about? Are you perhaps talking of vents rather than fins?

right. the merc vents look like fish scales, so subconsciously i typed fins.

[raymondu999]

I'd love to see what Newey thought of putting such vents on the car. They haven't since 2009, opting for the bazooka exhaust instead

[Robbobnob]

nice McL RBR comparison, really shows how much more sidepod McL have as you cant see out the back like the RBR.

but obviously kers cooling is the trade off. Another thought that came to me.. As of last weekend the RBR seems quite far ahead in terms of pace... what if red bull either lowered the power output of the KERS system or slowed the recharge rate... so it is there if they need it to defend but isnt constantly being used and over heating. just a thought

[Formula None]

I doubt cooling is the issue. It was pretty chilly in Melbourne, right? We don't even know the size of the KERS related radiators, their placement or how much airflow they need. There's no real evidence that the volume of the RB7 sidepods is less than in the other cars. The sidepods protude out from centerline about as much as the others so I think the width is there. The RB7 is pretty long from the sidepods back so its possible they can get that nice smoothly tapering bodywork without sacrificing internal volume.

Horner is a walking talking smokescreen, so who knows where they're really at with KERS.