Christian Horner claims Red Bull pushing the ‘extremities’ of ground-effect rules
Christian Horner explained how pushing F1 regulations has contributed to Red Bull's recent struggles with the RB20.
Follow Us
Christian Horner and RB20 (via IMAGO)
Formula 1 headed to its 16th round of the season in Baku, where Red Bull drivers had a strong outing in FP1. However, the past few races have been tough for the Milton Keynes and their star driver, Max Verstappen, due to car balance issues. Red Bull hasn’t won a single race since the Spanish GP, placing their Constructors hopes in danger. To improve their car’s performance, the team had to introduce several upgrades. Team boss Christian Horner explained the challenges that come with implementing these upgrades.
In an interview, Christian Horner explained that when a team upgrades their cars, two major issues can arise particularly load and balance. The load refers to the additional weight added to the car, which can surpass the limit due to the upgrades. Meanwhile, maintaining proper balance is crucial, as the car needs to stay stable and manageable even with more powerful components and Red Bull is leaving no stone unturned in improving performance. As a result, these upgrades can lead to imbalances, making handling more difficult, especially when the car is pushed to its limits.
I think that there's several aspects. One thing you're talking about is in terms of absolute load that you're putting on the car through upgrades, but then you have balance as well.Christian Horner told F1 TV
Horner explained that as they push the extremities of F1 regulations, they sometimes encounter discrepancies between their simulation data and actual on-track performance. Wind tunnels and CFD are used to predict how a car will perform, but occasionally these predictions do not match real-world results. Hence, Horner described this situation as a correlation drop.
As we're starting to push the extremities of these regulations, Sometimes you find that correlation drops out between track and your simulation tools, which are primarily the wind tunnel and CFD.Christian Horner added.
Christian Horner reckons other teams have also experienced correlation drop
Christian Horner mentioned that the RB20 had a better balance at the start of the year. However, as they increased the load on the car, its performance did not match the predictions from their tools and simulations. He noted that other teams might have experienced similar issues, indicating that Red Bull is not alone in facing these discrepancies. Therefore, Horner highlighted that this performance gap had affected not just Red Bull but also other teams in F1.
We had a better balanced car at the beginning of the year, as we've put load on the car, it hasn't correlated with what we've seen in our tools, I think a couple of other teams have had that too.Christian Horner stated.
Certainly, Christian Horner noted that while the RB20 initially had a good balance, increased load led to performance discrepancies. To him this issue was not unique as others on the grid also had gone with facing similar problems. Fans hope the team performs well in Baku to widen their lead in both championships, making it harder for other teams to catch up.
Stay Updated!
Gaurang Kadam
(535 Articles Published)