Red Bull Racing’s 2022 F1 machine, the RB18, is focused on its aggressive side pods, but it’s not the only major innovation.
Some solutions may not be as obvious to the naked eye as the side pods in terms of how much step change it is, but they may be important in the 2022 F1 World Championship battle. There are several.
One of them is the beam wing design. The rest of the team has a dragonfly-like design found in FOM show cars, but the Red Bull RB18 has outstanding design features.
The Red Bull RB18’s beam wing is shaped so that the two elements are stacked rather than in series, with the bottom element cranked up to provide a much higher angle of attack. This helps to enhance the interaction with the diffuser, but the upper element acts as a flow conditioner between these aerodynamic structures and the rear wing.
Prior to its discontinuation in 2014, the Beam Wing was a powerful tool for F1 teams to connect and coordinate the flow structures created by the diffuser and rear wing. Red Bull Racing seems to be trying to continue where the previous design was interrupted.
Like McLaren, Red Bull Racing has changed suspension options. A pull rod layout on the front and a push rod layout on the rear have been adopted, switching from last year’s push rod front and pull rod rear.
This is a very interesting change given that Red Bull Racing, and even Adrian Newey, are considered the designers of the pullrod rear suspension revolution. After switching to Red Bull’s pull-rod rear suspension on his RB5 in 2009, it was recognized as the best solution, and it’s not forgotten that it was subsequently adopted by all teams from top to bottom of the grid.
The decision to switch back to the pushrod rear suspension was largely driven by aerodynamic factors. It is more important to place the suspension out of the way of the rising floor section. Its value has been increased in importance by the new regulations surrounding the underfloor and the diffuser.
This change is heavier, but it can be considered a fair compromise because of the easy access to the inboard suspension elements if setup changes are needed.
On the front of the Red Bull RB18, switching to a pull-rod suspension isn’t the only notable novelty. The adjustment has been moved to a more central position on the rod for easier access by the mechanic, but the layout of the wishbones is also interesting.
Like last year’s Red Bull RB16B, one of the wishbones has a monomeric crossing chassis. However, like the flip of the pull rod, this is also upside down. Therefore, it is the front upper arm that passes through the chassis bulkhead instead of the front lower arm.
The front upper arm is also mounted as high as possible at the intersection with the chassis. The rear is slightly offset from it at the outer edge, but is also mounted much lower at the edge of the chassis.
These are the choices that have an aerodynamic impact on the route of the downstream airflow. However, this multi-link arrangement seems to have something to do with the desire to promote the quality of some anti-dive that helps control the front end of the car while the brakes are applied.
The steering arm is aligned with the front lower leg of the wishbone to create an aerodynamic relationship between the two. The rear leg is offset like the upper, but much less aggressive.
Another interesting area of the Red Bull RB18 is the narrow slot on the front underneath the bulbous chassis splitter. Like other teams with similar slots, it appears to provide cooling to the components housed inside.
In most cases this is expected to be an electronic device, but it should be remembered that Red Bull Racing chose to house the auxiliary oil tank in this position in 2021.
Nonetheless, there is a small visible cylindrical cooler attached to the entrance when the car is returned to the garage, and also provides a support bracket with a brake duct blower that helps cool the brakes. ing.
Category: Category: F1 / Red bull / F1 machine
