TECH CORNER: Red Bull forced to introduce larger cooling outlet in Jeddah

Max Verstappen delivered a masterful lap in Saturday's qualifying to secure pole position for today's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, driving his RB21 that features several reliability and performance upgrades at Jeddah.

The track is 6.174 kilometres long and one of the fastest of the season with drivers spending around 80% of the lap with the accelerator buried to the floor, even though it is fairly twisty and boasts a record number of corners, 27 in fact, with 16 to the left and 11 to the right.

Many of them are taken at medium or high speed. Although there are three DRS zones, overtaking is not that straightforward due to the lack of any heavy braking points.

The track surface is not very abrasive, with an average level of roughness, but the lateral forces exerted on the tyres are considerable, although not at the level to be found at Suzuka or Barcelona for example. Graining can put in an appearance, especially in the first free practice sessions as the track is very dirty to start with, because it is rarely used for motor racing.

Due to Jeddah’s high speed nature, several team have elected to introduce upgrades to their cars, with the majority of the upgrades focusing on the unique coolin requirements and the long full-throttle sections of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Red Bull have brought both performance and reliability upgrades to Round 5 of the 2025 F1 season.

In Saudi Arabia, the RB21 features an enlarged central exit which was necessary due to the very high ambient temperatures at the Jeddah round that takes place a month later than last year which mean significantly warmer conditions than twelve months ago.

Regarding the cooling modifications, Red Bull have noted: "Demands of circuit in Jeddah with the forecast ambient temperatures require the use of a larger top body to reject the heat needed for cooling."

Interestingly, Racing Bulls which use the same Honda power unit as Red Bull, managed to keep the back end of the engine cover tight as they only added a few cooling vents to their car.

The Milton Keynes-based squad also brought a performance upgrade in form of a new beam wing. The modified wing features a reduced chord and camber, with Red Bull explaining: "A step to reduce the downforce at a given speed to observe the lift/drag requirements for this circuit."