The reigning Formula 1 team champion Red Bull Racing launched its latest challenger, the Renault-powered RB8 Monday at Jerez in Spain.
The RB8 features – like most other new F1 cars – a step nose designed to suit the new FIA regulation about the maximum height of the nose cones and chassis.
“The restriction nose height which is a maximum height just in front of the front bulkhead hasn’t really changed the chassis shape very much,” said Adrian Newey, chief technical officer.
“We’ve kept more or less the same chassis shape, but had to drop the nose just in front of the front bulkhead”.
Coping with the removal of the exhaust blown diffuser for RB8 was a real challenge.
“Probably one of the key things there is the rear ride height,” Adrian Newey continued.
“The exhaust allowed us to run a high rear ride height, it’s much more difficult without that to sustain a high rear height so we have to go back down and have to redevelop the car around that lower ride height.”
By looking carefully at the photos, we note a large nose mounted duct. It is though to feed air from the hump on the front of the chassis forward through the nose structure and down to the front wing – like a revised F-Duct.
It is thought that this approach increases front downforce but little is known about it. The layout is legal as long as it is not driver operated.
The RB8 features – like most other new F1 cars – a step nose designed to suit the new FIA regulation about the maximum height of the nose cones and chassis.
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| Red Bull-Renault RB8. |
“The restriction nose height which is a maximum height just in front of the front bulkhead hasn’t really changed the chassis shape very much,” said Adrian Newey, chief technical officer.
“We’ve kept more or less the same chassis shape, but had to drop the nose just in front of the front bulkhead”.
 |
| Red Bull-Renault RB8. |
Coping with the removal of the exhaust blown diffuser for RB8 was a real challenge.
“Probably one of the key things there is the rear ride height,” Adrian Newey continued.
“The exhaust allowed us to run a high rear ride height, it’s much more difficult without that to sustain a high rear height so we have to go back down and have to redevelop the car around that lower ride height.”
 |
| The step nose features an interesting opening... (Photo: Red Bull) |
By looking carefully at the photos, we note a large nose mounted duct. It is though to feed air from the hump on the front of the chassis forward through the nose structure and down to the front wing – like a revised F-Duct.
It is thought that this approach increases front downforce but little is known about it. The layout is legal as long as it is not driver operated.