Side by side: Red Bull RB8 and McLaren MP4-27

At the final day of testing, with cars now approaching they race specifications for Australia, it was time to have a look against what are likely to be two of the strong teams at the beginning of the season.

Hence, we compared them with images from f1zoom, aligning the cars on lines A, B and C. Although we should be careful from drawing too many conclusions from image comparisons due to their slightly different perspectives, there are a few interesting bits we can notice.

First of all it is clearly noticeable that the driver is positioned more forward in the Red Bull chassis compared to the McLaren. This feature allows for longer and narrower sidepods, creating more freedom for the aerodynamicists working at the rear of the car. It is also likely moving the centre of gravity of the car forward, although this can be re-adjusted with ballast.

Secondly, it also appears that the Red Bull is slightly shorter than the McLaren (note markers G and H).

Marker D finally shows how much forward Red Bull have moved the exhausts, allowing the gases to be pulled down onto the diffuser. The latter is apparently considered crucial for performance by both teams.

A highres version is available in the gallery at http://www.f1technical.net/gallery/2012 ... /rb8-mp427