Revealed: The new parts added to Red Bull’s attacking arsenal
Red Bull continue to add to their arsenal at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with another update for their front wing available that’s keyed towards the specific challenges posed by the Hungaroring.
The team had already made a shift in their design philosophy with the upper flap design that they ran at the Belgian Grand Prix but this change follows that new design trajectory, albeit with the intention of matching the downforce level being employed at the rear of the car.
Same, but different
As can be seen in the image above, Red Bull opted to split their drivers for FP1, with Tsunoda using the older specification front wing (bottom), whilst Verstappen tested the newer configuration.
The difference between the newer and older specification from a flap geometry is clear to see, with the dotted line representing the shape of the trailing edge, which not only has a much taller chord section in the centre of the flap’s span, this also results in the whole geometry of the flap being altered.
This will have an impact on not only how and where the downforce is generated by the wing, it also affects the airflow distribution across the wing’s span, altering how it interacts with other flow structures, such as the outwash generated in the outboard portion of the wing.
👉 Tech analysis: Red Bull throw kitchen sink at RB21 in bid to catch McLaren
In terms of the difference between the specification being used in Hungary versus the one used in Belgium, the obvious identifier is the use of a full-length Gurney flap on the trailing edge of the flap but, it’s likely there’s a little more chord too.
These changes will help balance the car front-to-rear, with the team opting to use their higher downforce rear wing configuration, supplemented by their higher downforce, twin-element beam wing arrangement.
The team also have the option of a larger front brake duct inlet / outlet arrangement at this Grand Prix, having announced it via the car presentation document, with the need to increase cooling more of a concern at this venue.
This is also true of their overall cooling package, with the largest rear outlet and cooling louvre arrangement used during FP1 to keep the power unit and ancillaries at the desired temperatures.
Max Verstappen rues ‘nothing really works’ in the Red Bull after FP2
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
It was a challenging Friday for Red Bull at the Hungaroring, Tsunoda the only driver to break into the top 10 in the second hour of practice, yet he was eight-and-a-half-tenths off the ultimate pace set by McLaren’s Lando Norris, while Verstappen was restricted to P14.
Having called the Red Bull RB21 “underivable” during FP2, Verstappen gave a concerning debrief after exiting the car.
“Today was very tough,” he told the media, including PlanetF1.com. “Just really low grip feeling and, yeah, not really a balance in the car, so it’s difficult to say what is the exact problem.
“Nothing really works, so this is something that we have to investigate overnight, because so far, it’s not been our weekend.”
Put to him that this poor start and a subsequent recovery is quite common for Red Bull, Verstappen added: “I’m sure we can do better, but this today was quite bad.
“So we need to really understand first, where it is, and what is causing us to have such a big problem with the car.
“I mean, McLaren looks really on it, they’re flying, but naturally of course, I want to be a little bit closer to P3.”
Read next: Red Bull’s early practice blow with fresh data revealed