Red Bull RB8 Renault

[Diesel]

I can think of two possibilities.

One. There is a tiny slot (disconnection) between the red horizontal-ish fin just in front of the tire and the black vertical fin just inboard of it. Maybe we just don't see it. This would be a conventional explaination. Red Bull would simply be positioning their tiny legality slot more inboard than other teams.

Two. Remeber the FIA has tightened up the floor vertical tolerance to 3 mm this year. The inboard edge of the horizontal red fin is more than 3 mm above this tolerance zone. Therefore the point where it is connected to the black vertical fin does not constitute part of the floor. This becomes a halfway plausible argument because the abrupt vertical surface it attaches to (i.e. the black vertical fin) can be claimed to not be part of the floor. If the inboard end of the red horizontal fin simply transitioned back down to the floor then this argument would lose out at that transition.

For possibility two, Red Bull would be arguing the opening is a slot in the floor that happens to be enclosed by a vertical fin that is not part of the floor. This would be using the floor vertical tolerance "against" the FIA, clever. This would seem to open the door for all kinds of floor openings as long as they abut to vertical surfaces.

Sorry for awkward wording. Not arguing in favor of RB, just putting ideas out there.

+1

This is a very good explanation, and it highlights the big risk. If this interpretation is indeed legal, then it potentially opens the door for other holes in the floor, could we suddenly see double diffuser reappear? Probably not. I suspect this loophole will get closed, it would probably be beneficial for Red Bull to accept that and change their design in a few races time.

[gray41]

How much lap time would this slot actually give?

[hardingfv32]

What is its function?

Brian

[Crucial_Xtreme]

How much lap time would this slot actually give?

BBC's Gary Anderson said a tenth of a second.

[gray41]

I think its function is to force the airflow to the inside of the wheel and into the corner of the diffuser helping to seal it to some extent?

[Crucial_Xtreme]

What is its function?

Brian

The purpose of the hole/slot in front of the rear tyre is to generate a vortex to stabilize tyre squirt around the wheel. They work by bleeding air from above the floor to the area just ahead of the tyre, under the floor. This adds energy to the flow splitting around the tyre and prevents it passing into the diffuser.

[bhallg2k]

They do help to seal the diffuser.

The slots in front of the rear wheels help alleviate problems related to tire squirt. The spinning wheel creates vorticies that are inherently unstable and shift from side to side, and in some cases forward. This is why teams used wheel fairings when they were legal, to stabilize the flow. Without any help, and especially due to the reduced potency imposed by the new exhaust rules, the exhaust plume is very susceptible to being diffused before it reaches the diffuser.

EDIT: That's the second time that's happened to me today. I must be channeling my inner Hamilton. I'm being undercut constantly.

[___]

How much lap time would this slot actually give?

BBC's Gary Anderson said a tenth of a second.

He said something like that COULD be worth a tenth of a second. Even the team wouldn't know that kind of thing until they tested it in their wind tunnel. And while the hole in the floor being worth that much sounds plausible, I really doubt that not having a slot running to the floor edge is worth that much.

[Crucial_Xtreme]

How much lap time would this slot actually give?

BBC's Gary Anderson said a tenth of a second.

He said something like that COULD be worth a tenth of a second. Even the team wouldn't know that kind of thing until they tested it in their wind tunnel. And while the hole in the floor being worth that much sounds plausible, I really doubt that not having a slot running to the floor edge is worth that much.

And you don't think they've tested it in their wind tunnel? They've been using it since China, so I'd think surely they have. The question was how much time would a slot like this give. He answered it could be worth a tenth of a second, which is much needed in this years F1.

When you think about what exactly the slot is for & what it's doing, a tenth sounds quite reasonable.

[Owen.C93]

It's probably wort 0.099s if you have a tiny slit so it isn't a hole though. Considering that a few teams haven't bothered with it then I'm not sure that it's imperative.

[Forza]

It's impossible to value how much of pure lap time the solution brings but in interaction with exhaust flow at the sides of diffuser it's variable to the speeds the car is travelling and exhaust flow velocity. Stabilizing/minimizing tyre squirt around the wheel in this area is one of priorities to have clean airflow at both diffuser edges.

@bill shoe: Interesting interpretation of rules that could bring up further solutions in this area.

[mx_tifoso]

Livery discussion has been moved to the team thread:
Red Bull Racing 2012

[westech]

Innovation in formula 1 is based upon brilliance of interpretation of the regulation, so red bull infamous hole or holes appears to be illegal, but based on the interpretation red bull has its own definition of the rule. The technical regulation states that the design appears to infringe article 3.12.15( read ) that means red bull has its own rule book the ride height in 2010, frexible bodywork that was in 2011 and even overspending.I hope Fia will look at this issue with an open eye and wipe out all those dart trick f or good.

[joeyg02]

I really wish we had a shot like scarbs got last year at Monaco when they had to transport the floor to the pits from the truck *sigh*

[Cuky]

Red Bull RB8 floor declared illegal by FIA

But why aren't they disqualified on those 3 races where they have used it? Sauber was disqualified in Australia last season because of illegal rear wing, just for example...