Red Bull launched the RB9 in a converted warehouse next door to its factory in Milton Keynes in front of an audience of team members, partners, guests and international media.
The car is the final instalment in a generation of designs that have bought Infiniti Red Bull Racing 34 wins and a trio of constructors titles.
Despite the largely unchanged nature of the technical regulations for 2013, Adrian Newey explained that the off-season was far from relaxed.“It’s a tribute to all the hard work of the guys over the winter because we had a very tight championship battle last year,” he said. “It was difficult trying to continue development of last year’s car while also doing research into the RB9. Obviously it worked for us, but it gave us a very tight timeframe to design and manufacture this car.
“RB9 is an evolutionary car,” he added. “Probably the most significant change is not the regulations, but the new Pirelli tyres. We had a quick test with those in practice ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix but in truth we didn’t learn a lot because of the conditions. Pirelli have supplied us data about how the new tyres behave but past experience tells us that it’s only when we go testing that we really find out.”
Red Bull were very cagey indeed at the launch of the car, photography was banned and nobody was able to get a close look. But a few details can already be gleaned from what was seen.
The nose of the car features the ‘hump’ that blighted the looks of many of the 2012 designs, but Red Bull has dropped its forward facing vent in favour of the hump. But despite there being a hump the car does feature a ‘vanity panel’ according to Adrian Newey “we do have the vanity panel on there, but it does not stretch the whole way to the front of the nose as the weight of it would be too high for that. But we have dropped the letterbox vent which cooled the driver and some electronic systems” he explains.
But closer inspection reveals that the RB9 has still got a nose vent though it is more like the one fitted to the Sauber in that it faces rearward.
The exhaust concept is a direct carry over from the RB8, as is the rear suspension, though on this launch spec car it is likely that many older parts were fitted. The tunnel under the exhaust bulge has also been retained.
The sidepod turning vanes and pod wing have been retained from the RB8 but expect to see a lot of development in this area of the car.
One of the family heirlooms of the current generation of Red Bull cars is the roll over structure, the RB9 almost identical to the RB8 (below) itself very much like the RB7 & RB6.
TEST 01: JEREZ
Chassis: Not disclosed
Red Bull’s Engineering Co-ordinator Andy Damerum:
“On the whole we’ve had a very good first test. I think both drivers would say they’re happy. We put another 425km on the car on the final day, which means we’ve logged a total of 1,652km this week, which is very satisfying. Next week we’ll pour through all the data, learn from it and then head to Barcelona for the second test.”
Nobody got a close look at the RB9 at its launch in Milton Keynes, but things were different in the opening test. With a chance to look more closely at the car.
A first look at the cars diffuser shows it has a lot in common with that of the RB8 but at the opening test components like this are often carried over.
The almost ‘NACA’ vent on the ears below the monocoque was also evident on the RB8.
Red Bull spent a fair amount of time looking at its rear end, there was flow vis paint daubed on the diffuser and rear wing for much of the first days running at Jerez. In the picture above we get a nice look at the serrated lower edge of the rear wing end plate. Interestingly the serrations are linked together by what could be described as a horizontal gurney. Note the flow vis paint on the inside of the rear wing endplate and the underside of the upper elements of the wing.
A closer look at the exhaust of the RB9. It appears that it got rather hot during running and damaged some bodywork parts with inadequate heat shielding (the lighter coloured area above the dark exit bodywork. Time for a trip to Zircotec one suspects (Zircotec is the market leader in thermal barrier coatings in F1).
From above we get a good look at the RB9’s nose vent. It is identical in concept to the one used by Sauber and Adrian Newey has openly admired the design of the Swiss teams 2012 car.
Another view of the rear wing in its ever present day glow green coating of flow vis paint, in case you were wondering the paint (or dye) is placed on components of interest to the aerodynamicists then the car is run on track, the streaks it leaves (rather like a dirty car in the rain) allow them to see what the air flow is doing.
At Jerez the air temperature is quite low meaning that Red Bull had to come up with an impromptu blanking plate for its brake ducts.
Here is a nice shot of the RB9’s exhaust layout and the components downstream of it.
Red Bull conducted substantial aerodynamic evaluation at Jerez especially at the rear of the car. The primary tool for this was the once unfashionable flow visualisation paint, seen here on the upper elements of the rear wing.
And on the lower element of the wing, this image showing the dye and the flow on the underside. As this picture was taken as the car left the pits at low speed the dye has not fully flowed so the pattern on the wing is not especially insightful.
Finally runs were conducted on the diffuser itself. Note the starter hole, clearly evident in this image.
The RB9 features tunnels under the exhaust exit as was the case with the RB8, it is clear that the tunnels on the ‘9’ are split in two.
The image above shows the detailing at the base of the sidepod vane, note the split level on the outer edge, a feature that also appears on the Lotus.
TEST 02: BARCELONA
Chassis: RB9-??
The RB9 ran with additional cooling gills on the cockpit flanks as many cars do. It is likely that this is part of a warm weather package tested on the car.
This image gives a good idea of the flow of the RB9’s exhaust, note the discolouration on the floor. The removable panel on the floor shows the path of the tunnels in the floor.
At Barcelona there is a particular section of track that allows photographers to capture the rake angle a particular car is running at. Compare the Red Bull RB9 (above), with the Sauber C32 (below).
Finally take a look at the Williams FW35 with almost no rake at all (below)
A nice look at the RB9 diffuser complete with a sensor array
There is a lovely piece of scalloping in the cars engine cover above the exhaust exit. This is all to do with optimising the exhaust plume and its route to the diffuser
TEST 03: BARCELONA
Chassis: RB9-??
More flow vis was used by Red Bull at Barcelona, note the the flow pattern created by the rear wheel on the endplate.
Here we get a good look at some of the flow patterns on the rear floor of the RB9.
Flow vis was not the only aerodynamic analysis tool used by Red Bull at Barcelona, a large sensor array was fitted behind the rear wheel. A new front wing is employed here.
The end plate features additional vents towards the leading edge of the end plate. Compare the new version (above) with the old (below)
The vanity panel on the RB9 has also been changed as part of the same update that included the new front wing end plate.
The new nose (above) has a smoother transition between the front of the hump and the lower portion of the nose. The RB9 is fitted with a vanity panel but still retains a hump. Compare with the older version below.
RACE 01: ALBERT PARK, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Car: 01
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 3rd
Car: 02
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 6th
CHRISTIAN HORNER, Team Principal: “Starting from the front row, third and sixth obviously wasn’t the result we were targeting, but all things considered with the way that the race panned out, I think it was the optimum we could achieve. Lotus seemed very light on its tyres, with Kimi being able to make a two-stop race really work for him. I think in the cooler conditions today we weren’t in the optimum window with these tyres, but nonetheless it was a very positive start to the Championship with a podium finish and a sixth place. Mark made a good recovery after a difficult start and an ECU related KERS issue in the first part of the race. We managed to reset the system and his recovery was strong from then on. We leave this race knowing we’ve got a good car and we’re looking forward to warmer temperatures in Malaysia next week.
A nice look at the steering wheel on the no.2 RB9, with all of the buttons and rotaries clearly marked.
RACE 02: SEPANG, SELANGOR, MALAYSIA
Car: 01
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 1st
Car: 02
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 2nd
Malaysia high temperatures saw the RB9 fitted with additional cooling outlets along the car centreline
A nice look at the diffuser of the RB9 note the detailing on the gurneys and the intricate detailing in this area. The centre of the RB9’s diffuser area is fed by tunnels under the exhaust exit (below)
A hugely controversial race result at Sepang was all down to team orders. Both Vettel and Webber were told to switch the multi map to setting 21 “multi 21”, Webber did so but Vettel did not. The multi-map is a pre-programmable, driver selectable feature of the MES std ECU, on the RB9 the adjustment is on the right hand side of the steering wheel (below – on setting 4)
RACE 03: JIADING, SHANGHAI, CHINA
Car: 01
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 4th
Car: 02
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: DNF (rear wheel)
Christian Horner, Team Principal: “Having opted to start the race on the prime tyre, it was always going to be a different race for us compared to the cars ahead of Sebastian. Unfortunately in the first stint, after Sebastian had passed Jenson, Hulkenberg managed to pass both Jenson and Sebastian in the DRS zone, which cost us quite a bit of time. Arguably the time lost then hurt Sebastian at the end of the race – and otherwise I am sure he would have been on the podium. But, nonetheless he drove a very strong race, managing his pace and tyres very well to come extremely close to taking the final podium place on the final lap. With Mark, having taken the opportunity to change the car significantly overnight and starting from the pit lame, we elected to stop on the first lap, change his soft tyres for the hard ones, and put him into clear air. His pace thereafter was excellent, he was coming back through the field extremely well, but unfortunately an incident with Jean-Eric Vergne caused front wing damage and a puncture. After changing the nose and all four tyres, Mark reported a problem with the right rear on the out lap, which had certainly left the pit lane fully torqued up. The right rear then came detached from the car and caused Mark to retire. Until we get the car back, it’s not possible to yet conclude the exact cause.”
Webber had a nightmare race – a problem with a fuel bowser saw the RB9 run out of fuel in qualifying and incur a grid drop penalty. Red Bull then decided to change the rear end of the car including the, Gearbox assembly, Rear inboard suspension assembly, Gearbox hydraulic system and associated control parameters, Clutch, LHS and RHS rear top wishbone assembly, LHS and RHS rear lower Z wishbone assembly, Rear upright assemblies, Rear wing assembly, Mechanical fuel pump
The gearbox was been replaced with the approval of the FIA technical delegate following a written request from the team, this being in accordance with Article 34.1 of the 2013 Formula One Sporting Regulations. But this gearbox change was before the required five consecutive Events expired. The new gearbox also had different ratios.
Due to the different gear ratios been fitted and suspension set-up changes the car had to start from the pit lane.
To put salt in the wound Webbers car came into contact with a Toro Rosso, following a pit stop for repairs a wheel came loose and the car was out of the race. This saw the team hit with a €5,000 fine.
A good look under the skin of the RB9. It is worth looking at in some more detail (below). Looking low under the body some KERS components can be seen, Red Bull mounts these further rearward than other teams. Also of note are the winglets mounted above it.
The winglets can be better seen in this shot of the other side of the car. Note the orange cables running along the car, these are the high voltage KERS electronics and are coloured orange so that they are not accidentally cut. The Helmholtz chamber on the exhaust is clear to see.
Note the cooling pipes (marked SV), these feed the gearbox cooler from the duct behind the drivers head.
A new rear wing was fitted to the cars in Shanghai compare the new version (above) with three vents in the end plates and a new main plane with the old version (below)
RACE 04: SAKHIR, BAHRAIN
Car: 01
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 1st
Car: 02
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 7th
CHRISTIAN HORNER, Team Principal: “An absolutely impeccable drive from Sebastian today. He executed two brilliant overtakes, one on Fernando and the other on Nico Rosberg. After that he dominated the race until the finish and managed his tyres brilliantly. The strategy worked perfectly with the tyres that we conserved in qualifying, which ended with a dominant win on a three-stop strategy. For Mark, after racing very well in the first stint and making progress through the first round of pit stops, in the second stint he pushed very hard on the first few laps which effectively elevated him into second position. Unfortunately he couldn’t achieve the longevity in that stint, which put him under pressure for the final two. His last stop put him in the range of those on two-stops, and then it was a matter of making it to the end. Despite fighting fantastically well and racing very hard with Lewis, he ran out of rear tyres before the end of the race, but still got some valuable points.”
Another look under the bodywork of the RB9 as a heat shield is being added, this composite part is covered in a reflective foil aimed at keeping the air flowing through the ducts to the engine and transmission cooler at a adequately low temperature. Not an easy task under the bodywork of a modern F1 car.
Looking at the front bulkhead of the RB9 we see the holes that should house the cars torsion bars and the power steering system. The aerodynamic parts bonded to the cars tub can also be seen clearly.
The wishbones can be seen here without the hub assembly fitted, the wheel tether loops can be seen quite clearly.
Red Bull tested a Williams style ducted hub but opted not to race the design. Getting the air flow right with this concept is reputed to be incredibly difficult.
A neat little winget has appeared on the floor on the car, expect other teams to copy this design.
RACE 05, MONTMELO, CATALUNYA, SPAIN
Car: 01
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 4th
Car: 02
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 5th
CHRISTIAN HORNER, Team Principal: “A tough race. Fourth and fifth places obviously weren’t the target going into the race, but the way it panned out it was obvious that tyre degradation was going to be a key factor. We didn’t quite have the pace today but we still managed to score some strong points. We made four pit-stops with both cars, saw some great work in the pit lane and recorded a succession of very fast stops. It was a good recovery after a difficult first lap for Mark.”
The rear most part of the RB9 was fitted with a sensor array in Free Practice 1, with the team reluctant to disclose its updates the array hints at the areas of interest.
Extensive aero evaluation was done on the car with flow vis paint. With the amount applied it is surprising none of the dye ended up on the drivers visor. Note the partially blanked off brake duct.
A look at the RB9’s brake ducts reveals the Bembo calliper mounted at the base of the disc an approach first taken by Minardi jn the 1990’s in an attempt to lower the centre of gravity of unsprung weight.
RACE 06, LA CONDAMINE, MONTE CARLO, MONACO
Car: 01
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 2nd
Car: 02
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 3rd
A new rear wing endplate was introduced in Monaco, featuring the leading edge slot pioneered by Williams.
Before the race the team changed the right rear brake temperature sensor on car 1 (Vettel).
RACE 07, ÎLE NOTRE-DAME, MONTREAL, CANADA
Car: 01
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 1st
Car: 02
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 4th
CHRISTIAN HORNER, Team Principal: “To win in Montreal is a fantastic result for the team. Having come so close two years ago, to win in the dominant fashion that we did today was a tremendous performance, despite a couple of heart stopping moments, particularly when Seb touched the wall. He was totally commanding today and thoroughly deserved the victory. It was a shame for Mark that his race was compromised by van der Garde, who just seemed to shut the door on him for no reason damaging the front wing. But, despite that damage Mark did a tremendous job to still finish fourth.”
A rare look at the underside of the RB9’s front wing, note the trailing edge shapes.
Red Bull conducted a number of aerodynamic evaluation runs at Montreal, using sensor arrays and flow vis (above) most of the attention was paid to the rear of the car, specifically the ‘brake duct’ area.
Here we can see the shape of the new nose on the RB9, which was introduced in Montreal (above), it features relocated camera housings and a flatter section. Compare withe the nose used in Monaco (below)
RACE 08, SILVERSTONE, ENGLAND
Car: 01
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: DNF
Car: 02
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 2nd
CHRISTIAN HORNER, Team Principal: “Obviously to get within 12 laps of winning the race and have a retirement due to a transmission issue is pretty painful, particularly at this venue, but Sebastian had done everything right today and it was a great shame. For Mark, after a difficult start and being hit at the first corner, he made a great recovery with a good nose change from the guys and his drive from then on was fantastic. He got his head down, charged his way back through the field and came pretty close to claiming the victory, but nonetheless second place was a great performance from him on a big weekend for the team.”
Ahead of the British Grand Prix a new chassis was brought to the garages. This let us look at the void at its rear to house the KERS MGU.
A look under the skin of the 2nd RB9.
RACE 09, HOCKENHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY
Car: 01
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 1st
Car: 02
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 7th
Red Bull conducted some aero evaluation work on the rear of the car using flow vis paint to analyse the airflow.
The RB9’s sported a revised rear floor, apparently made of a special resin that deforms at high speed giving advantageous aerodynamic performance. The resin section of floor can be clearly seen as it is lighter in colour.
TEST O4: SILVERSTONE
RACE 10, MOGYOROD, HUNGARY
Car: 01
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 3rd
Car: 02
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 4th
The RB9 sported an aerodynamic update kit in Hungary, the most obvious part of it being the small cockpit side flow conditioner (above), a sensor array was used in Free Practice at the lower leading edge of the sidepod.
A new diffuser was also installed and evaluated using both flow vis dye and a sensor array.
New bargeboards also came as part of the update, with small slots on the upper edge.
RACE 11, FRANCORCHAMPS, BELGIUM
Car: 01
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 1st
Car: 02
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 5th
Another look under the engine cover of the RB9.
Further flow vis work was conducted on the cars diffuser, something of a major area of development for the team.
At Spa the car was fitted with a new nose. The new design (above) is more pointed, unlike the orginal (below) which has a slight droop. The camera housings were also relocated.
RACE 12, MONZA, MILAN, ITALY
Car: 01
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 1st
Car: 02
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 5th
Red Bull fitted a new front wing to the RB9 at Monza (above & below covered in flow vis dye). It reduced drag and in turn increased to speed from 328kph to 335kph
RACE 13, SINGAPORE
Car: 01
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 1st
Car: 02
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: DNF
Thierry Salvi (Renault):
“Sebastian had fantastic pace today. He controlled the race from the beginning to the end. Mark retired following a water leak about five laps from the end. We tried everything, including short shifting, to get to the end of the race, but we came up just short and the engine overheated within sight of the line. The whole team did a great job this weekend, showing the potential of the Red Bull-Renault chassis/engine package yet again. Apologies to Mark, as he deserved more after such a strong race.”
At Singapore the RB9’s arrived with transmissions using a new coating on the internals. Reb Bull’s web site hinted that the new hydrogen free ‘Diamond Like Carbon’ (DLC) was developed in conjunction with Infiniti. DLC coatings are common in F1, especially on engine and transmission internals, where they reduce friction. Red Bull is thought to regularly use the Oerlikon range of DLC coatings.
A look at the rear upright on the RB9 with setup equipment attached to the hub. At Singapore the camera housings returned to the tip of the cars nose (below)
In the wake of the Singapore Grand Prix, which was utterly dominated by the Red Bull RB9 of Sebastian Vettel, questions were raised about whether the car is using traction control.
This is highly unlikely and it is probable that those suggesting that the RB9 runs TC lack understanding of how such systems work, especially considering that all cars run identical TAG 320 ECU’s.
However the latest issue of Racecar Engineering raises an alternative, legal and highly innovative solution for the RB9’s mid corner performance, which could also explain many of Red Bull’s reliability issues.
It is theoretically easy to modulate the output torque and charging input torque to an electric motor/generator using capacitors, batteries, inductors and a feedback signal. Torque changes are instant and control is easy and legal.
If torque were to be modulated in response to the normal force of the tires against the track (in response to shock pressure for example) significant unused traction potential could be recovered during high pressure phases (upside of bumps) and initiation of full wheel spin during low pressure phases (downside of bumps) could be delayed. Yielding better turn exit acceleration, higher cornering speeds and stability. Especially on bumpy tracks like Singapore.
In the new issue of Raccear Engineering magazine, this concept is fully explored, and Adrian Newey also comments on the issue. – Read the full story along with a full discussion of the RB9’s design below.
Adrian Newey on the RB9 and its secret weapon.
RACE 14, YEONGAM, SOUTH JEOLLA, SOUTH KOREA
Car: 01
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 1st
Car: 02
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: DNF
Thierry Salvi (Renault):
“A win that was not as easy as it looked for Sebastian! With two safety cars, Seb had to do the job twice to increase the gap with the competitors and he’s did it very well, again showing his talent. It was a shame for Mark as he was really on for a very strong result in spite of his starting position. The collision with Sutil damaged the car and caused the fire. It’s too early to tell if we can re-use the engine yet – we will have to look at the damage. There is plenty to study in the week before Japan now, particularly with the strong position Sebastian is now in the Championship.”
What fire does to an F1 car.
Pretty much everything behind the oil radiator was ruined according to Red Bull. So for Suzuka just seven days later the team had to build up a new car from the cockpit backwards (including a new monocoque).
RACE 15, SUZUKA, MIE, JAPAN
Car: 01
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 1st
Car: 02
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 2nd
A look at the rear end of the RB9, lots of interesting details to note.
Red Bull ran two different specifications of rear wing at Suzuka (above & below) in Free Practice, compare the wing shapes and the number of vents in the endplates
A new cooling exit appeared at Suzuka (below), these cooling outlets are one of the few areas of ducting allowed in this region of the car.
Compare the new shape with the old version seen in Korea (below)
RACE 16, GREATER NOIDA, UTTAR PRADDESH, INDIA
Car: 01
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: 1st
Car: 02
Chassis: Not disclosed
Result: DNF (Alternator)

Racecar Engineering January 2013
