Red Bull Racing hit the sweet spot with its car development when it introduced a radical RB19 in 2023. They went on to win every race except Singapore and retained both the championships. However, despite the success, the drink-based outfit revised the concept for the 2024 season.
Surprisingly, Red Bull Racing ditched their success model to copy Mercedes’ previous editions ground effect aerodynamics car and rumoredly planned to make zeropod concept work. And in what looks like a step in the same direction, the Bulls have introduced multiple upgrades involving sidepods for the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix.
Red Bull Revise Sidepod Inlet Arrangement And Floor Structure For Suzuka Race Weekend!
When Red Bull Racing ditched its successful RB19 concept to take inspiration from Mercedes’ previous edition flop cars, it almost seemed like a challenge from Adrian Newey to prove how he could turn the Silver Arrows’ ill-fated concept into a race-winning machinery. However, so far, the Bulls haven’t materialized the zeropod concept. Regardless, for the Suzuka race weekend, the team introduced track specific upgrades. In documents submitted to FIA, the drink-based outfit mentioned the realignment of the sidepod inlet arrangement. An extra inlet has been attached to the top front corner of the sidepod with a channel connecting it to the sidepods itself. Besides, the side-mounted cooling exit has been blocked since Suzuka is a relatively cooler circuit than what we have had this season so far.
Red Bull believes the inlet rearrangement would result in better flow downstream. In addition, the team also revised the floor structure with changes to the floor edge, which were designed to bring greater load without disrupting the stability of the car. The floor changes collectively are expected to increase downforce whilst simultaneously maintaining stability around the corners. Moreover, the Bulls have introduced smaller front brake ducts to meet Suzuka’s low brake energy demands. Having said that, Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan clarified that the upgrades were pre-planned and not related to any issues faced by the drivers. They allegedly stitched a package for Japan even before RB20 was unveiled to the world. “It’s visually a reasonably striking one. And in terms of the magnitude of the upgrade, it’s roughly what triggers us to do an upgrade,” said Monaghan.
Mercedes Once Again Delayed Upgrade Package In Pursuit Of Experiments
While Red Bull are thinking about the future beyond the ongoing season already, Mercedes appear to picking up the pieces of a slow start. The much awaited upgrade package continues to get delayed as Toto Wolff stresses on experiments. He feels that experiments on every race will help with more precise data and also help in figuring out the sweet spot for W15.
Notably, Lewis Hamilton earlier stated how W15 is not the evil sister of its predecessors and appears a great platform to build on for the rest of the year. But Mercedes somehow are delaying the building up process to unearth the fundamental flaws of the car concept. In conclusion, Mercedes will once again experiment with their setups in Japan which reduces the probability of better results.
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