Red Bull is pushing hard to try to put Mercedes in trouble. Since not even Milton Keynes bring technical innovations to the latest races, the challenge has become knowing how to take advantage of the available solutions to adapt the characteristics of the car to each track. And it is that the Jeddah circuit has a high average speed, at the height of Silverstone or Spa-Francorchamps.
The cards for the Saudi GP game are still face down on the table: Mercedes didn’t fit the superengine in Lewis Hamilton’s W12 , and Red Bull deliberately decided on a very cautious Honda power unit mapping for Max Verstappen.
The Brackley team chose a more aerodynamic setup than the one chosen by the engineers led by Pierre Waché (Red Bull) for the second free practice session, when the Dutchman took to the track with a main profile rear wing with less drag ( resistance to advance) thanks to a very accentuated spoon shape and endplates without grooves and renouncing the twisted blow.
You can see here the difference between the Red Bull wing in Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2
Red Bull Racing RB16B detail of the rear wing used during Free Practice 2 of the Saudi Arabian GP
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Red Bull Racing RB16B detail of the heaviest rear wing used during Free Practice 1 of the Saudi Arabian GP
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
In the mobile flap, on the other hand, we noticed the appearance of a conspicuous Nolder , whose effectiveness is only manifested in slow curves, since the flow tends to avoid the Gurney flap when it exceeds a certain speed, while in FP1 they did not mount that solution.
The top speed difference between Verstappen’s Mercedes W12 and Red Bull RB16 on Friday was 4km/h, prompting energy drinkers to seek maximum aerodynamic efficiency.
We will have to see what will happen this Saturday in qualifying when the Mercedes drivers can take advantage of the maximum boost of the engine in their cars and the speed differences are real. Mercedes’ aim is to put Valtteri Bottas alongside Lewis, possibly on pole position.
Red Bull wants to derail that plan, and hopes Verstappen slips between the two W12s. In Milton Keynes they are convinced that the problem of heating the front tires in the first three corners, something that the Dutch driver said this Friday, can be overcome when the Jeddah track picks up rubber. Every little detail can make a big difference…
Detail of the rear wing of the most downloaded Red Bull Racing RB16B in FP2 in Saudi Arabia
