Red Bull RB8 Renault

[wesley123]

Nope they didnt ran it. This fatter end plate wasnt ran until Spa/Italy If I'm Correct. or even a little before that There is no way they could run pipes through it before that

[bhall]

I have a suspicion this car has been running a DDRS system since the first race. That letterbox inlet discussion was quietly displaced by the interest in the Mercedes DDRS. Could it be that Red Bull were struggling to get theirs to work effectively which led to some of the handling imbalace they had at the start of the season?

I also think they've been up to something for quite a while now.

The slots on the beam wing have been on the car since at least Valencia.


They just weren't accompanied by obvious DRS inlets on the rear wing end plates.


I'm still looking through images to find out more. But, I seriously think there's no way in hell the letterbox inlet is for "driver cooling," as Newey has stated. I've said from the get-go that such a slot is for driver cooling only insofar as nothing cools a driver better than a champagne shower on the top step of the podium.

[wesley123]

Those slots were something different. Those slots made use of the same area Ferrari did with their multi profile rear wing close to the end plate. Nothing more or less than that, I saw a picture of it from the front once, but couldnt find it anymore.

[bhall]

I don't think so. The "end plate slots" you've described link immediately to the front of the wing. It's visible.



The RB8's beam wing slots do not.

[illario]

I dont want to be rude, but i would like to post a question.
Is it possible to make a DDRS from the 'letter box'. I'm not saying that Red Bull has it, i'm Just asking is it theoretically possible.
Sorry if my question is below the level of discussion.

[bhall]

Far from it. In fact, I suspect the letterbox inlet is a part of their Daffy Duct solution.

The general consensus about the Mercedes DDRS is that air is fed from the rear wing inlets to the front wing upon the activation of DRS. I've never bought into that line of thought, though, because it just doesn't make sense to route that high pressure flow along the entire length of the car to blow the front wing. I think the Mercedes DRS inlets serve as the fluidic switch that allows high pressure air from the chassis scoop on the nose of the car to supply the high pressure air. That's far more sensible in my opinion.

I don't yet know how the letterbox inlet factors into Red Bull's solution except that I'm pretty damn sure it plays a role somehow, somewhere.

[Matt Somers]

Far from it. In fact, I suspect the letterbox inlet is a part of their Daffy Duct solution.

The general consensus about the Mercedes DDRS is that air is fed from the rear wing inlets to the front wing upon the activation of DRS. I've never bought into that line of thought, though, because it just doesn't make sense to route that high pressure flow along the entire length of the car to blow the front wing. I think the Mercedes DRS inlets serve as the fluidic switch that allows high pressure air from the chassis scoop on the nose of the car to supply the high pressure air. That's far more sensible in my opinion.

I don't yet know how the letterbox inlet factors into Red Bull's solution except that I'm pretty damn sure it plays a role somehow, somewhere.

I've never bought into the Mercedes DDRS concept either and believe that they actually use the airflow from the nosecone hole to blow the underside of th front wing when DRS is inactive and when DRS is activated it pulls the airflow past the FW pillars stalling the FW. The reason they blow the FW under normal circumstances is it allows for a steeper AoA on the FW as the blowing aids attachment/reduces boundary layer.

To this end I have a slightly different theory on RBR's RW-DDRS which I posted about last night: http://somersf1.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/ ... sible.html
Red Bull could very well have found a good way of manipulating the exhaust plume to better achieve their original goals in the region. I think DDRS could be part of a curve ball in that reducing drag isn't the largest part the system plays and with the 2013 ban on Secondary function DRS the other teams may just dismiss it.
I'm probably wrong, just wanted to share my theory.

[wesley123]

I don't think so. The "end plate slots" you've described link immediately to the front of the wing. It's visible.

http://s12.postimage.org/gen6ewysb/d12aus1625.jpg

The RB8's beam wing slots do not.

Here the beam wing slots at the wing tip. You clearly see it is multi profile, just like at the main rear wing. However they look different compared to now, probably because they now blow the wing at that point.

[CottrellGP]

I don't think so. The "end plate slots" you've described link immediately to the front of the wing. It's visible.

http://s12.postimage.org/gen6ewysb/d12aus1625.jpg

The RB8's beam wing slots do not.

Here the beam wing slots at the wing tip. You clearly see it is multi profile, just like at the main rear wing. However they look different compared to now, probably because they now blow the wing at that point.

Also this car isn't from Korea.

[Nando]

Valencia perhaps.

[CottrellGP]

Valencia perhaps.

I think so Nando.

[wesley123]

Yep Valencia, but on the other hand where did I say it was from Korea?

That was how they ran it before the DDRS wing. however the DDRS wing has its blowholes in that location, which gave me the suggestion in the first place that this was just the slots, however I was wrong.

[Forza]

Source: Autosport Plus

Also on F1.com Link 1 & Link 2

[allstaruk08]

is it possible that one or both of the ducts on the sidepods are used to stall the beam wing (not had a lot of time to read thorough the posts so sorry if this has already been brought up)

[CottrellGP]

Does anyone know why some of the teams have got rid of the little turning vane things that came down from the bottom of the rear wing end plates?