Williams test Red Bull-alike air exit

Williams have been trying out different rear bodywork on their FW33 car. The new layout is quite similar to what can be seen on the Red Bull RB7 as it creates a hole above and ahead of the beam wing to allow hot air get out of the sidepods.

With the new exit, the team was able to close the exit low above the diffuser, aiming to create a cleaner airflow onto the diffuser, instead of using the hot air that went through the radiators upstream in the sidepods.

What makes this so interesting and perhaps difficult to get right is Williams' notorious low gearbox. With other teams developing high and narrow gearboxes that rely on air passing along the sides of the gearbox, Williams attempted to get more air above the gearbox. While this new layout is just testing, CFD analysis within the team's headquarters must have shown that clean air flowing around the sidepods is more useful for downforce generation at the back compared to hot and somewhat more turbulent air from within the sidepods. That is also the reason why Red Bull are doing a similar thing since the very introduction of their RB7.

By Tomba on 31-07-2011 | General

Comments

By J3rrYcid on 11-04-2013 at 06:40

Williams has upgraded its radical gearbox now. In 2011, the size of the gearbox is minimised as much as possible to ensure the maximisation of the engine. From that design, I think the latest Williams gearbox uses raised and reinforced gearbox casing to act as an anchor for the wishbones. It is a pretty interesting solution. I really like reading about the different tweaks that F1 cars go through after each race. The engineers have to be really skilled at ensuring that all car parts are improved for maximised car performance.


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