TECH DEBRIEF: Red Bull rolled out an extensive upgrade package at Spa-Francorchamps
On the back of an up-and-down race weekend for the Milton Keynes-based outfit last time out at Spa-Francorchamps, F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo delivers his review on Red Bull's extensive upgrade package.
Red Bull had opted for a skinny rear wing for the Spa F1 Sprint, and it proved a masterstroke. With better straight line speed than McLaren, Verstappen was able to overtake Oscar Piastri on the opening lap. From there, the Dutchman drove perfectly to keep the arguably faster McLarens at bay as he took the Sprint win.
However, the Dutch driver was left to rue his laps in the standard qualifying session after he was unable to split the McLaren, and got beaten by the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc as well.
With heavy rain forecast for the race, Red Bull elected to run Verstappen’s car with more downforce. However, it didn’t pay off as the majority of the grand prix was run in dry conditions.
Although Verstappen looked very competitive in the damp conditions in the opening stages of the race, he was unable to overtake Leclerc, finishing down in fourth spot.
His team-mate Yuki Tsunoda endured a difficult race on Sunday. The Japanese driver delivered his best qualifying performance at Red Bull on Saturday, but he spent the majority of race in traffic, and could not capitalize on a potential early switch from intermediates to slick tyres
.
In the end, the Sagamihara-born driver finished down in P13, extending his pointless streak to five races.
Red Bull unleashed a raft of upgrades at Spa-Francorchamps, headlined by changes to the front wing, sidepod and engine cover, but there were further changes behind that.
The first and second elements of the front wing feature revised camber and incidence, while elements three and four have been adapted as a result of changed regulations.
As for the tweaks to the front wing, Red Bull noted: “The geometric changes revise the pressure distribution across primarily the first two elements of the assembled wing raising the overall load derived from the assembly.”
The Milton Keynes-based outfit has also brought two reliability-related upgrades, aimed at improving cooling at upcoming events. On the image of Albert Fabrega, it emerged that the team merged the two inlets of the sidepod inlet into one, whilst the upper portion has widened.
Regarding the tweak to the sidepod inlet, Red Bull noted: “Noting the tracks approaching which challenge the Power Unit cooling systems, the inlet to the sidepod radiators has been enlarged to exploit better pressure now available.”
The modification to the sidepod inlet was aided by revision to the engine cover.
“Having changed the sidepod inlet and therefore the split lines to the sidepod part of the top body, the engine cover has been revised to link the sidepod to the floor, maintaining the same cooling exit louvre options.”
Moreover, the team revised the inboard fairings on the top wishbone of the front suspension “to aid the pressure available at the new sidepod inlet, therefore enhancing the cooling.”
In addition, Red Bull has optimized the rear wheel bodywork winglets to add load while maintaining aerodynamic stability.
“The rear wheel bodywork lower cascade wing assembly has locally more camber and a trailing edge trim to the endplate adding load whilst maintaining flow stability,” the team noted.
