Red Bull RB8 Renault

[bhall]

Yeah, I realized it's legit right after I posted that.

EDIT: I hate that I didn't get it down in time for no one to see it.

[GrizzleBoy]

Oh, I get it. You can have a hole there, it just can't have a scoop like that. The scoop is the part of the car you can see when looking from underneath, which makes it illegal. That's why Ferrari's cutouts are OK, as are Sauber's "blades," I guess.

Horner just said on Sky that it's legal so I guess much ado about nothing. It does look like what they've used in previous races so I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. But their interpretation does seem different to Saubers for instance.

Horners word means nothing in all honesty. He has no reason to say anything other than what will benefit his team the most.

Martin Brundle has said that regardless of what he's said, there does seem to be some problems that will be brought up among the teams.

In the end though, we're all guessing and dont actually know for sure what we're talking about here.

[italian]

Anyone with a picture of the part they are talking about; we need to know more about it.

Could this be useful?

[Crucial_Xtreme]

Horners word means nothing in all honesty. He has no reason to say anything other than what will benefit his team the most.

Martin Brundle has said that regardless of what he's said, there does seem to be some problems that will be brought up among the teams.

In the end though, we're all guessing and dont actually know for sure what we're talking about here.

Agreed. Here's the hole in China

[Nando]

"The slots in the Red Bull floor are designed to try and inject higher energy airflow into the gap between the tyres and diffusers – to try and overcome the airflow disruption caused by the rear tyre. This will help produce more rear downforce."

Autosport.com

So since some people still are unsure about what hole it is, it´s the hole closest to the rear tire. Not the hole near the centerline of the car.

[Gridlock]

Brawn (paraphrasing) - "We thought it was an interesting interpretation...and queried it in Barcelona".... "were told it was OK but other teams are taking it further"

Kravitz "I understand the FIA are tending towards other teams' interpretation rather than Red Bulls"

[NathanOlder]

Yeah, from the chat with my mate Ross Brawn (I met him on a plane to Spain last January) It sounded like Red Bull may be in a little trouble here.

Wonder who the other teams are pushing it hard ? Lotus & Ferrari are my bet, If thats the case , Red Bull may be in trouble

[bhall]

In rethinking my original position (again), if Red Bull's slot is illegal, then so is Ferrari's, because it too has a scoop. That's why I retracted my first bit.

However, Red Bull's scoop is attached to a vertical strake. That could make all the difference in the world as far as legality is concerned. You can't be able to see any part of the car from underneath, save for the mirrors. But, here, you can see the strake, because it's connected to the scoop.

[Crucial_Xtreme]

The latest row is about a rectangular hole in front of the rear wheels on the Red Bull.

The Red Bull has a slot in the floor of the car just in front of the rear wheel

Article 3.12.5 of the technical regulations says this area must be "uniform, solid, hard, continuous, rigid, impervious surfaces under all circumstances".

Red Bull's rivals believe this hole is illegal because it means the floor is not "impervious". They believe it is there to provide an aerodynamic advantage.

Ferrari and Sauber also use a cut-out in this area but in the case of their cars it is open at the edge of the floor, so it is considered just to be the shape of the floor.
Continue reading the main story

“Article 3.12.5 of the technical regulations says this area must be 'uniform, solid, hard, continuous, rigid, impervious surfaces under all circumstances'”

Having it open at the edge means the aerodynamic advantage gained is not as large.

However, there is a view that the hole might be legal as the rules could provide for a hole in the surface of the 'step plane' - a horizontal plane that is 100mm higher than the bottom of the car

BBC

[bhall]

It looks to me like the floor is actually scraping the tire there. In a manner of speaking, would that shear off tire squirt?

Or does the tire bend it in such a way as to reorient the profile of the scoop while the car is in motion? It seems like that might help to somehow "pour" the exhaust plume to the edge of the diffuser.

[beelsebob]

However, Red Bull's scoop is attached to a vertical strake. That could make all the difference in the world as far as legality is concerned. You can't be able to see any part of the car from underneath, save for the mirrors. But, here, you can see the strake, because it's connected to the scoop.

The fact that it's attached to the strake may indeed be what they're using to argue that the floor is in fact impervious – the vertical strake is in fact bodywork, not the floor, hence the hole is in fact a slot – there's no piece of connecting floor between the parts! I think that's a pretty sneaky interpretation, but it might just manage to get through.

[bhall]

I know the strake is considered bodywork. I think that's the whole problem.

Where does the scoop (floor) end and where does the strake (bodywork) begin?

(Unless we're talking about two different things. I'm not sure what you mean by "a piece of connecting floor.")

[hardingfv32]

And now the hard part...... What is it the purpose of the opening?

Brian

[ringo]

The hole is legal. It is beyond the 650mm from center line area. radii and holes are free here.
What i think may cause it be illegal is the trailing edge of that winglet/hole. maybe it should be on the step plane?
It is the edge of the floor afterall, i think this should be on the step plane.
it would be just fine if the trailing edge came back down to the step plane where it would form the edge of the floor; as you know various tolerance tests are done with the floor.
The winglet could make things more complicated in that regard.

edit: looking at it again, the trailing edge of that scoop does come back down to the floor plane. This is legal then.
No controversy here really. The scoop doesn't create any lift either because there is very high pressure in front of the tyre pressing down on that part of the floor.
a small amount of air will flow under the floor through it. Not sure how much of a benefit it is, but it's helping the exhuast.

[beelsebob]

I know the strake is considered bodywork. I think that's the whole problem.

Where does the scoop (floor) end and where does the strake (bodywork) begin?

(Unless we're talking about two different things. I'm not sure what you mean by "a piece of connecting floor.")

What I'm suggesting is that if you look at
you see that the red area forms a C shape, not an O shape – that is, there is no part of the floor completing the circle, and hence what we're looking at is a slot, not a hole. At least, I'm betting that this is what RBR are arguing.