Red Bull RB7 Renault

[Formula None]

Overlay w/ Sauber C30, scaled & aligned at rear wheel, illustrating again how much higher rear ride height is on the RB7:



FW, China:

[feynman]

Any ideas on what purpose the Red Bull tyre-aimed pitstop laser-dot serves:



Can't imagine it being used as a position or location sensor.

I'd guess the spot is used to aim an thermal-imager at the tyres, but not sure why, the old tyres have cooled coming down the pitlane and you can measure them in the garage, and the new tyres are just out the blankets so you know pretty much how hot they are.

Any ideas?

[Hangaku]

With RedBull being the way they are about their pit stops (I heard they do team building weekends to make their pit teams work better as a group...), I wouldn't be surprised if it was a location sensor. The distance of the tire from the sensor can tell them instantly if a pit stop has been slowed due to stopping too early or too late (gunners having to move for a wheel, etc.)

Again, Martin Brundle did an analysis of this with Hamiltons pit stops, and show how overshooting the box or being too far left or right can add half a second to a tire change - almost a game changer.

[PlatinumZealot]

Laser thermometer i think. Just for quick temperature measurements.

[flynfrog]

looks like the flowviz is showing the direction of the last ply of carbon. Almost looks like its uni. This could be a clue to the flexi wing although this ply direction would be the exact opposite of what you would need to get the flex. Maybe they are testing the flex and adding some plies of uni as needed? [/blindspeculation]

[flynfrog]

also what is the almond shaped thing on the third element.

[Byronrhys]

also what is the almond shaped thing on the third element.

Probably Manual Flap Adjust.

[ernest]

Manual flap adjust or, fiendish drag activated flexi wing tensioning device?
Alright it's probably just for flap adjustment, but would be interested to see wether the colour stripes always line up vertically in some of the shots of the wing flexing.

[Spartan202]

Can someone enlighten me what exactly is the use of the huge trumpet like outlet directed to the rear wing? [visible right above the rear light]

I know it must direct air to the middle winglet but what type of air? Is it hot air from the radiators? reason I'm asking is that it seems quite prominent at the back of their cars and it must be essential for their impressive speed in the fast corners. Is there a way such a system could be implemented on our cars?

[roadwarrior]

Can someone enlighten me what exactly is the use of the huge trumpet like outlet directed to the rear wing? [visible right above the rear light]

I know it must direct air to the middle winglet but what type of air? Is it hot air from the radiators? reason I'm asking is that it seems quite prominent at the back of their cars and it must be essential for their impressive speed in the fast corners. Is there a way such a system could be implemented on our cars?

They use that over sized exit for hot climates. In the cooler climates they use a more 'normal' sized outlet as seen in the testing season.

[Mr Alcatraz]

"If I'm honest," said designer Adrian Newey recently, "I would rather not have KERS on the car."

The Briton was also quoted as saying Red Bull is in a "learning phase" with its system, amid suggestions Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel have been banned from talking about KERS or any specifics of their difficulties.

"Actually I don't know (what's wrong)," said Australian Webber in Shanghai, "and honestly I don't really care either. I just want it to work!"

Auto Motor und Sport said the foundation of Red Bull's KERS is the Renault system, but it differs in design by 40 percent to the base unit, which has functioned in the Lotus-Renault essentially without drama so far in 2011.

The report said Newey has packaged KERS unusually compared to the bulk of the field, for example, by placing some components to the left and right of the gearbox.

In comparison, Renault's KERS is under the seat, while Red Bull's has suffered from vibration, high temperatures and software glitches.

http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/ ... b7-report/

Has Newey gone a step too far?
If they do ever get that thing sorted out it's going to be "Katie bar the Door"

[FrukostScones]

Automotorunssport.de actually states that a part of the batteries is located inside the gearbox casing.

[BreezyRacer]

Well sometimes a step too far can happen. I wonder how difficult it would be to abort and repackage. Given that the weight distribution is fixed, if they can repackage then all the better.

As for the trumpet exhaust, it's more important to maintain clean flow to the underside of the beam wing than the top so the exhaust is located up high ..

[copperkipper1]

Unlucky. Looks like they overlooked the placement of the KERS system leading to overheating and varoius other issues.

Unlike McLaren (as an example) who have fully incorporated into their build design.

I knew redbull would be at a disadvantage with KERS at the start of the season as they have had little expierance with it.

[i70q7m7ghw]

It's going to be very difficult to repackage and maintain the weight dist. If they had to move parts of the system forward they would need to add ballast to the rear to bring the weight dist. back in check, potentially increasing their overall weight...

Sounds like quite a pickle.