Red Bull unveiled the latest updates on the final morning of 2022 Formula 1 pre-season testing in Bahrain, with tweaks to the sidepod design of Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez’s RB18.
Detail of the side of the Red Bull Racing RB18
The improvements are not a drastic change in philosophy for the Austrian car, contrary to what happened with Mercedes during the first day of testing at Sakhir, but rather an update to a solution that has already caught everyone’s attention at Barcelona when he first came out on the track.
The new parts tighten the chassis so that the components inside the car are housed very compactly . However, a clear line has appeared in the stamping of the main body of the sidepod, with an aerodynamic purpose to direct the airflow towards the rear of the car.
This line will help aerodynamics , with a decided out and down look added to the front of the sidepod, while the undercut has been reshaped and enlarged.
Detail of the side of the Red Bull Racing RB18
This additional section will expose more of the bottom of the car to the flow coming in from the side of the Red Bull RB18 , while its effect reaches back towards the up-ramp section at the rear end of the sidepod.
There are also some small geometric alterations to the upper surface of this area of the pontoon, so that the airflow is directed towards the bottleneck region.
