In the lasts round Of F1i competitor from the Red Bull they have noticeably shortened the technical gap. There RB20 it therefore showed some weaknesses that had still remained hidden and were easily counterbalanced with other strengths. But lately competitions, in addition to various topics already discussed, Max Verstappen he complained several times handling lacking when traveling on curbs. The reigning world champion explained that in fact he cannot attack too many players kerbotherwise the car will break down and consequently lose too much grip.
A situation that does not emerge from the simulations in driver-in-the-loopas they arrived at Monkthe technicians realized that the basic setup was completely wrong. Max has expressed the presence of this problem several times, but at the moment no one has Red Bull made any further comments or explanations. In fact, not even they know exactly what is happening to the car in these specific circumstances. The team satellite VCARB uses the suspension of RB19 and at the moment they are not experiencing any problems.
That’s why the headache may lie in some minor changes that have been made compared to last year. At the same time, however, it must be said that Red Bull believes he suffers from a problem similar to the one suffered by a Singapore, just last season. The path of Marina Bayin fact it shares several peculiarities with Montecarlo regarding asphalt. In the last three weeks, the vehicle dynamics department has carried out several test at the level of setup: lower or increase the rigidity to find a working direction to solve the problem.
Perez he tried settings with 15% less rigidity, aspects that removed too much load. There is in fact an aero-mechanical link that must be taken into account. Largely the purpose of suspensions in F1 is to keep the aerodynamic platform as stable as possible. For this reason we tend to use very rigid kinematics. A factor which also contributes to absorbing load transfers more and therefore also keeping tire temperatures more stable. The Red Bull problem seems to be exactly this: lack of absorption of bump by the suspension scheme.
F1, Red Bull: fixes and updates scheduled in the coming weeks
The problem could arise from multiple fronts. The first could concern the unsprung masses of the car. These include the wishboneThe pull rod, the steering arm and the wheel assembly in general. An excessive weight of these components can have a negative impact on handling when facing bumps, reducing the tire’s ability to follow imperfections and stay in contact with the road surface. This can be part of the headache, which can be resolved by “losing weight” of some components and regaining weight. Action that requires short timescales.
Another possibility could involve a lack of understanding of the settings on the various damper which in the global scheme of suspension take on the task of absorbing energy and returning it in certain ways. The moment the car faces a bump, the suspension must compress trying to “copy” the variations on the asphalt surface. It must do this as fast as possible, since the travel time of a bump is in the order of a few fractions of a second. TO Montreal there Red Bull has investigated this factor and the engineers of F1 they measured the movement of the tie rod.
Above we look at the system they used during free practice, useful for understanding exactly what movement the pull rod made once stressed and what the response times were. This element (rod) which is called a tie rod, has the task of activating the internal components of the suspension through the rockers. Therefore, considering that compared to 2023 there are no substantial changes to the various dampers that are purchased externally, the team has limited the problem to the two-dimensional movement of this important suspension element.
It must be said that, in general, the Red Bull It’s a car F1 with extremely rigid kinematics and suspension settings, an aspect that contributes to the excellent load level that the car body can develop. Producing aerodynamic components such as the bottom, which work effectively at different heights from the ground, is a very difficult task and something is often lost in terms of downforce stability. By stiffening the entire platform and limiting the excursions from the ground the error is contained, but obviously, automatically, the ability of the suspension to absorb the roughness of the terrain is also reduced.
For this reason even on tracks like the Canadian one which provides a very smooth and smooth reference surface bumpthe Red Bull RB20 however, she was able to perform properly. While a Monkon the contrary, where the presence of bump is very constant, the Austrian F1 car encountered undoubtedly greater difficulties. From now on, taking a look at the European calendar, there will be circuits that are certainly more congenial to Red Bull. One of these next, the Spainwhere the single-seaters do not use the curbs much and in general the presence of bump is smaller.
Ultimately, we recently learned that the stable of Milton Keynes he is working a lot on this aspect. Although, as mentioned, the issue cannot be resolved in the short term. the team is carrying out various tests in the factory and hopes to be able to “fix” this defect of the RB20 before the summer break. In the meantime he will continue to update the car. In fact, some updates are already planned for the next few years Grand Prizes which will increase the overall performance of the single-seater. Upgrades necessary, as the opponents are increasingly closer and more aggressive.
Authors: Alessandro Arcari – @berrageiz – Niccolo Arnerich – @niccoloarnerich
Images: Albert Fabrega – Alessandro Arcari – @berrageiz
