The first striking point about the Front Wing is the change in approach at the Endplate, featuring a curving slot as the base of it will allow airflow to pass from both sides of the Endplates but airflow will predominantly feed outbound around the front tyre. The front lower edge of the Endplate also features a curved section which again will influence the airflow aft of it. From the angles available at present it's unclear if it's a 6 or 7 tier wing but I'd hazard a guess at the latter.
Nose
The RB10 is another to feature the 'Finger' nose but approaches it several different ways to the ones we have seen so far.
The tip has been focused into a flat top keeping a smooth transition line along the top surface of the nose. This therefore means to meet the regulations that the front end of the nose is fairly tall. Red Bull have attacked this with verve however and turned the frontal section into a bow shape which reclines
backwards toward the outstretched nosecone. The lower shape of the nose also tapers from the tip clearing as much room between it and the Mainplane below as possible. The nose tip is populated by a cleverly designed inlet that maximises both the opportunity for it to be used as driver cooling but also mitigate any aero issues by placing just an open inlet in that position. The airflow otherwise confronted there onwards by an expanse of bodywork is treated to a 'Pelican' underbelly (outlined in Green) that facilitates the speeding of the airflow rearward and towards the central 'S' Duct.
It's a similar concept that adorned the RB9 with an inlet placed under the nose and another jutting slightly out of the top surface (lower image) of the nose before it meets with the Bulkhead. The under nose inlet however is still a little mysterious as it is split into 3 channels, the inner one feeds the 'S' Duct (outlined in Red) and I'll speculate that the outer two ducts (outlined in Yellow) simply feed along the periphery of the Turning Vanes in an enclosed tunnel to assist their flow. The upper outlet of the S Duct aids airflow over the top of the chassis with the steep nose incline causing separation as the chassis flattens back out (Think about how the Coanda exhaust worked ;) a tangential jet of air helps with attachment and is attracted to a nearby surface. )
Sidepod
A relatively small inlet means the RB10 also features a large undercut for which the airflow can make it's way to the rear of the car. Sidepod Airflow Conditioners, Slotted Bargeboards, Detached leading edge Floor Scroll and Horizontal Cockpit Vortex Generators are all carry over from the RB9 at present but may change before the season gets under way.
The rear of the Sidepod is taken care of with a high waisted cooling outlet that enables the airflow room to flow underneath to the coke bottle. Ahead of the rear wheel the floor has several tyre squirt slots which also twisted to increase their effect. Inbound of this the floor also features a singular Vertical Floor Strake (reduction from the RB9 which used two Strakes)
Airbox / Roll Hoop
If it isn't broke don't fix it seems to be the the moto at Red Bull as the intrinsic design layout of the Airbox is very similar to it's predecessor. Unlike Toro Rosso the team haven't felt the need to add a scoop underneath the main airbox and instead retain the undercut for cleaner airflow.
Rear Wing
Using a mounting pylon affixed between the upper section of the Engine Cover and wings Mainplane for rigidity I'd have expected a rather aggressive Endplate design. Aggressive it certainly isn't, moreover it's devoid of many of the regular design considerations that are usually seen by the leading teams. One would have to assume that many of the items on the RB10 are simply placeholders and instead the team are simply working on getting the bugs out of the car before really looking at performance.
Compared with it's sibling (STR9) the rear of the car seems incredibly rudimentary, devoid of lots of the aero tricks that even the STR9 features. The RB10 retains it's enclosed halfshaft lower wishbone arrangement which cleans up the airflow over the floor.
I will of course update the article as soon as the team decide to pop some actual parts on the car.
I really enjoy your write ups. Ill be interested to see your thoughts on that Caterham nose!
ReplyDeleteDoes that rear wing pylon on the RB10 have potential for being a passive drs duct?
ReplyDelete"I will of course update the article as soon as the team decide to pop some actual parts on the car." < < < hehe you're funny as hell, Somers! I might just have to turn off my adblocker when I visit your site - your dry humor is good enough, we want to keep it around!!! lol cheers!
ReplyDeleteMatt, thanks for the analysis, as usual!
ReplyDeleteWhat's your take on the missing camera mounts on the front of the car? I noticed that Red Bull was the only team to have cameras at the side of the airbox, however none at the front. Hole in the regulations?
the monkey's run away and taken his seat with him
ReplyDelete