Red Bull RB15 launch
Red Bull Racing were the second team to unveil their 2019 contender in the flesh – the RB15. This racer completed a successful shakedown and filming day at Silverstone on the same day as their Mercedes F1 rivals, who were running their W10 EQ Power+.
‘Its always exciting watching a new car being born,’ said Christian Horner, Team Principal at Red Bull Racing at the shakedown. ‘Today is all about just checking that all the systems work, all the basics, all the fundamentals. Theres no serious performance testing going on, its all about just checking all those systems and all the basics work properly before we head out to Barcelona next week.’
Running with a Honda power unit for the first time, the RB15 has had to be completely redesigned to accommodate the new power plant as well as optimise its packaging within the chassis. But as usual, Red Bull kept their cards close to their chests as their RB15 featured a one-off livery which is not only designed to look good, but also to disguise the clever details of the RB15’s aerodynamic design.
The bargeboards and surrounding area are more important than ever this year due to the heavily restricted 2019 front wing regulations. From the shakedowns we can already see the different approaches taken by the Red Bull RB15 and the Mercedes W10. The details of these components are very specific to each team and the chosen ethos of their aerodynamic package. Therefore, it is difficult to compare accurately between teams and the designs will evolve throughout the season as the teams continue to understand the aerodynamic impacts of the 2019 rules.
One thing that is interesting to note from the above pictures is the aggressive rake of the RB15 which is notoriously Red Bull. Although the rendering images of Renault F1’s RS19 also showed similarly high rake.
The reduction in bargeboard height of 150mm as specified by the 2019 regulations can be clearly seen in the above images. Although difficult to see due to the camouflage-style livery, the RB15 features some interesting vertical elements around the bargeboard area.
The front wing on the RB15 is much more simplified, with only 5 closed horizontal main elements and all the furniture on the outboard portion of the wing removed.
One of the consequences of the 2019 regulations stipulating a 100mm overall wider rear wing is an increased DRS effect. This is because the gap between the upper and lower element is also wider, increasing the cross sectional area and therefore the amount of air that can flow through this gap when the DRS is activated. This will lead to a higher drag reduction than in 2019, and ultimately a larger power boost to aid in overtaking.
Also shown in the above drawings is the increased rear wing height, which is 70mm higher than in 2018.
Despite the aim of the 2019 rules to aid overtaking and ‘improve the show’, the 2019 regulations have gone down badly at certain teams, such as Red Bull. ‘Sometimes this sport has the ability to shoot itself in the foot,’ said Horner, to the media at the Spanish GP. ‘The work that has been done for 2021 is all good stuff, the problem is a snapshot of that has been taken and hasn’t been fully analysed and there are no proven conclusions from it. It has then been rushed into a set of regulations that completely conflict with existing regulations. It completely changes the philosophy of the car because the front wing will be wider and different. The point that the car meets the air is the front wing and that then changes everything behind it: the suspension, the bodywork, absolutely every single component. We talk about costs and being responsible but what has just been introduced is a completely new concept which will cost millions and millions of pounds.’
Despite the controversies of these 2019 rules, only when all the final versions of the cars are lined up on the grid at the Australian GP will we find out just how effective these aero changes will be at improving overtaking.
