I have several questions about how different elements (introduced by teams or built-in by regulations) deal with front tire wake, how the floor is sealed, how dampers are tuned to maintain platform control, driver comfort/ride quality, and also near-perfect roadholding of every little crack in the road at high speed. 1) If the Merc W15 front wing as it is now is banned, would it be better if they curved the top element the other way and introduced a back-off in the middle to create a vortex that drives the front tire wake away and also help with sealing the floor? 2) could the sidepods be shaped in such a way that they help create vorticity that seals the diffuser? 3) could the sidepods be shaped in such a way that they help seal the underfloor along the side of the car? 4) how do suspension setup engineers find the balance between dropping the wheels down quick enough but also move the chassis slow enough that the aero balance doesn't get upset (and the driver's bottom and spine doesn't hurt)?
Something that I love/hate about the car announcements is the mystery on what is real and what is just for show on the cars. Always fun to guess and speculate on what's staying around and what's getting removed
There is something wild going on with the diffuser. They went to great lengths to keep anyone from getting good pictures of the rear of the car, and all the aero choices seem to tie into it even more than previous cars. Wonder what they’ve cooked up🤔
Or they are trying to make everyone look at the back of the car when there's something else going on that they actually don't want people looking at. Classic F1 misdirection
Your video series on speculative analysis during the reveal period is always the real start of the F1 season to me. Doesn't even feel like a year has passed!
Hey Ky! What a pleasant surprise to stumble upon your channel! I actually went to primary school with you. Alex A had mentioned you were working as an aerodynamicist but had no idea you had a channel. Really impressive to see what you’ve been up to, keep up the great work!
This is without question the best aero channel on YT. I like the way you don't just tell us what you know, you tell us what you don't know. Too many aero channels act like you can see whatever is happening with the car and there is no ambiguity. Mercedes' problems over the past 2 years underscore that you can't even do that if you have the data, let alone merely observing still pics from new car reveals...that might not even be accurate in every detail.
Hey Kyle, will you make another deeper Analysis on the RB20 now that we have seen it on the track in Preseason testing ? Love your videos, Keep up the amazing work !
Very odd to me as well because anyone with 2 working eyes can see that is not the same car it's way different than I even thought it would end up being.
Newey did say that they contemplated the zero side pods concept when asked about the Mercedes last year, but he said they put it aside because the development ceiling is low. So it matches with Mercedes' whole "this concept works on paper" I think Newey took that concept and merged it with the RB19. If it works, it would be an absolute dunk on the engineering on the grid.
Except I don't think it's being merged with the RB19. I think this is its own thing, a progression, taking after some ideas seen on the Mercedes and Ferrari of last season.
@F1ll1nTh3Blanks I said this because of Pierre Wache's comments. He seems to still see this car as a continuation of the RB20 jut with all its weaknesses addressed. Makes me think the parts we don't see (which, let's be honest, make the difference) still maintain a conceptual similarity with the RB20.
But they didn't use the zero pods only the features that came with and that's very different cause mercedes whole concept rely on zero pods and they taught it was the biggest innovation
Do you have listening comprehension problems or you just didn't bother watching the video and thought it would be a good idea to mash your fingers on the keyboard instead? Because he says the exact opposite, it's not a zero pod concept, they are the same side pods as last year with a different inlet shape.
When you say "losses" is that referring to turbulence or drag? I think a more general theory video would be great so that we can better understand the details in these videos. Always look forward to these every year.
When he talks about flows that are attached to the car, like the ones that enter the vertical cooling inlets, I really think he speaks about losses deriving from turbulences of the boundary layer
while they are connected, i'm pretty sure he talks about turbulence when he says stuff like "contain the losses" or "stop the losses from drifting of either side" (talking about the lumpy sausages in the back). this wouldnt make sense if he were to talk about drag here. @footballshowItaly said it basicallly already, only the turbulences dont necesseraly have to be boundry layer related but can result from the halo or the driver too
When kyle started this series at the start of the new regulations he went a lot more in depth on the terminology. Will get repetitive if he does that in every video which is why i imagine he doesnt do it all the time. But if you want more in depth understanding of the terms he uses you could go back and watch a few of his older videos
I can't believe I found this channel. I don't know what caused you to make a youtube channel, but it's honestly a great opportunity to hear real insights and analysis on the subject so thank you.
6 месяцев назад
In hot races there'd be cooling lovers inside the "sausage valley", the nose tip could have the panel removed with just side pillars for struct purposes Btw the radiator intake and the sidepod extensions reminds me like F-18 Super Hornet
There appears to be a line junction between the air inlet and the sidepod proper. It suggests that the air inlet portion may be removable , ie. BOLT ON element, exchangeable to gain varying characteristics. This inlet obviously controls the air flow around the sidepod, ie. over vs under, causing alternate downforce and center of pressure effects depending on track configuration. If it is true, it is the first ever such approach to aerodynamic manipulation in F1. Along with front/rear wings, the air inlet may become an "aero package" tuned for each race.
Kyle, you're right again about the Red Bull air inlets. I watched your RB18 video again and mate, you were so right about the big sideoods. Keep the squiggly lines coming, you've taught me so much already!
Hope you make a part 2 to follow up after seeing where the inlets really are after pre-season testing. Those extra inlets at the front of those upper “sausages” are super interesting.
Thanks for this analysis Kyle! Would you make another video in the future regarding hillclimb cars aero? Lots of interesting machines are out there lately
Love these types if videos, would it be possible to do a mid-season video as well so we can see how and why the cars were developed in a particular way... if thats not too much
It’s nice hearing about the changes they make and speculative pros to that decision, but it would also be great to hear more of the con of the change as well, since every design change will have pros and cons and it’s about the pros outweighing those cons that lead to the final decision. For example moving to Mercedes “cannon” style back end from the cockpit. You summarized some potential benefits of that but there must also be some pretty glaring cons as well.
I'm almost scared to think the RB20 might be faster and overall more competitive than the RB19. Time will tell. It seems all the teams might take a step forward (except Merc, which their drastic re-design could be great or not) but RB might take an even bigger step over the rest. I was hopeful for a closer front field but Adrian might have birthed another monster of a car.
Awesome video man. Could you do a video on the aerodynamics of WRC cars? Like prior to the aero restrictions of rally 1? I feel like the difference in philosophies between rally and tarmac race cars is interesting. Like, are there design differences because the cars are flying through the air? Are philosophies different because they're AWD? How does the large variation in speed impact the design? I feel like there aren't any videos really analyzing WRC aero, and your in-depth analysis of it would be really captivating.
Very interesting to see how steep the sausages curve downward at the rear of the engine cover! The high pressure created by the rear wing really allows for some extreme curvature without having bad flow separation.
Any specific reason why RBR may want to go with two letter box inlets vs one slim p-shaped inlet instead? Would it give them cleaner outwash with the separated positioning? Cheers for another great video, representing Kyles well
It struck me that the new Mercedes and this Red Bull intake are very similar in that they are both taking cooling air from the vertical slab sides of the forward cockpit where one would expect it to be reasonably dirty but Mercedes are blending the horizontal element with a smooth curve. They both have an extended upper lip too. If anything, the Red Bull appears to be the more clumsy looking version of the two.
@@colinhare4722 Isn't it that RB uses two seperate slots because each slot serves a different purpose? Also, if there are two slots, with different functions, it's easier to modify/adjust those parts individually for different circumstances.
im interested wether boundry layer ingestion like in some aircraft engines that are being developped is a thing here. by ingesting the dirty boundry layer air you can apparently reduce the overall drag, with drawbacks like the need for sturdier engines and worse cooling. How this works exactly is frankly still a mystery to me, but apparently it works at least in airtravel.
Really nice video Kyle! Will you upload more covering the rest of the cars as well? Or just the "top 3"? Can wait to see the rest if you end uploading them
I know you didn’t feel like making this video but thank you!! I always look forward to your videos now each year. I know it probably hurts your brain to think it terms of beauty instead of performance but I think Red Bull has the best “looking” car aka spretttyy
Now that every car has launched, a cool video idea would be comparing them against one another, who made the most improvements from what you've seen and perhaps a ranking of which concept you liked the most. Great videos!
I think this concept is quite stunning, the diffuser must be quite effective seeing how streamlined they have made the flow to the rear of the car. The sausages and the flipped sidepod inlet seem to show that they have gotten some rather clean flow off the top of the car into the diffuser. Even if this isn’t the actual car it is still masterful.
10:42 i think some people are missing this trick? on the side of the enginer cover right behind the sidepods, redbull now has 2 openings, potentially pushing free air to the rear, resulting more df?
Your videos are always the most authoritative and meaningful because of the caveats are careful choice of words. The typical analyses on YT just don't strike me as credible.
Calm down everyone, vertical side pod inlets are not a new thing they’ve been around for decades. A white extreme version being the 1996 Ferrari designed by John Bernard.
Thanks Kyle for these analysis videos - they give always the best insight possible into what thoughts might be put into all the design features aerodynamically - I highly appreciate your work, keep it up ! Cheers M.
what I like about this is the RB19 had such stable underpinnings and platform under load, braking and cornering, it seems to give them ultimate aerodynamic freedom to make such a clean looking minimal drag concept (especially at the rear/coke bottle).... do we imagine a mid year zero pod style packaging upgrade coming to the RB20
I think that’s 2025. He saw Merc try it and Merc had the idea and concept but didnt understand the new platform. Adrian worked it the other way - solid platform RB 18/19 - RB 20 more agressive - RB 21 (pod less!)
Kyle, love your videos. Here’s an idea, since the F1 fan base is growing especially given than Hamilton is moving to Ferrari in 2025, there will be a lot of new people who don’t understand how the car works. Can you make a playlist of vids explaining how an f1 car works that’s technical enough for engineers but simple enough for beginners. I also think you have a huge competitive advantage given that you actually worked in F1 so people would listen to you as opposed to other RU-vidrs who may do the same thing.
The fact that some teams have copied the sausages from Mercedes on the engine cover just tells me that actually Mercedes wasn’t too far of with some of their concepts
You know what would be great…IMHO….two things actually. First, if you could somehow impose a surface pressure map onto the car exterior…something simple like @ xxx kph/ mph the pressures look like +/- psi would be expected due to the geometry and typical flow dynamics. Second…if you could show some clips of actual wind tunnel flow lines and pressure maps…of any car or shape…again to help us visualize the phenomena that you are speaking about….including wind or airflow angles that are not along the longitudinal axis of the car…. 🤓 Thx for any consideration given…
Question - don't you think, that the sharply down-washing sausages will stall at high speed? At least I fail to see how the flow is going to stick to them at 300km/h. Stalling will give turbulent air to the rear wing and this way will diminish the pressure differential on the rear wing. That should lessen the aerodynamic drag of the rear wing. Also about the letterbox cooling inlet - I think, that the main idea there is to direct the overflowing air, that the cooling cannot accept at high speeds, toward the floor edges. Those 2 effects together may result in a situation, where at high speeds, floor contributes more towards the downforce compared to standard situations. Resulting in drag reduction.
With more driver cooling being introduced, could they be looking at needing to minimise cockpit losses as a small advantage. IIRC they (FIA?) announced increased slots and funnelling for driver cooling but didn't make it mandatory. Could RB be anticipating that no-one wants the aero losses running the extra cooling, so it will likely become mandatory for hot races in order to make the teams do it for driver safety? If the car is already designed to control airflow from the cockpit, it'd surely work better than an ad-hoc or non-existent setup just for races where more cooling would be required. Or would the extra losses from airflow through the cockpit be negligible, with most aero issues being the intake slot? I've not heard much about the driver cooling since it was announced or exactly what the aero issues are.
A Question: Is it in any way as far as you can tell possible that RB attached the nose to the 3 wingplate rather than the second wingplate like others teams or the first plate like in the launch version of RB. If you look at photos of the silverstone shakedown the bottom carbon end of the nose appears (al least to me) to not be attached like on the launch version. On the Shakedown photos the transition of the yellow part to the carbon part doesnt look smooth and more like it has a sharp edge which makes me assume that it isnt actually the carbon extension of the nose but rather the front wing which kind of looks like the extension due to the angle of the photo. Also the carbon part on the launch version looks like it was just glued there to cover something up. Im refering to the shakedown photo 1:42
Just pointing out Mercedes was able to do the zero pod design by bringing a more efficent cooling package. It makes me wonder if Red Bull have brought some innovations in that direction, I would love to see some clearer photos of the sidepod to see if its purely slot shaped or if it's a right angle like you sugest.
Yeah the floor edge was a complete decoy. There was no cut outs or anything visible and last year their cut outs along the floor edge were pretty sophisticated. RB did say it was launch spec as well and to expect more at pre season testing.
Every launch can be viewed with "healthy scepticism." I'm not sure why so many people waste oxygen on the launches (other than keeping up with the YT algorithm). Testing is where we see what teams have really been up to, and I'm hoping there will be some good in-depth analysis over the next few days.
To my untrained eyes, this RB looks less elegant than the last couple - This is more than the simple evolution I was expecting. I'm optimistically hoping that these forced changes are a sign that they know there is more time to be gained with this design philosophy, and the fact that so many of the changes mirror what other teams have moved towards is a positive for a competitive championship.
It's not very up to date but could you explain the blown diffusor in detail sometime? I'm building a rc car aerodynamic body and I want to include it into the design
Great video as always, Kyle. Do you have any thoughts about the outlet close to the rear diffuser? Could RB potentially be attempting a blown diffuser?
I’m more curious how a reverse slide pod would effect the aero. Make a gulley under the side pod instead of on top. Or even if both things were possible to do so the side pod ends up being like an end plate.
Kyle, do you think is possible that one of the functions of the canal created by the "sausages"is to force the spillage from the cockpit to attach to the surface and run down to the beam-wing and diffuser to energize the DRS?
Seeing the inlets above the halo during testing, I have to question if it is possible and allowed to use that air as a modern take on the 'blown diffuser' by channeling the air trough the canons, heating it up and then directing it to the beamwing? Would that be allowed? Or is cooling air not allowed to be used in such way?
i quick question, is the rule said must have sidepod inlet for cooling , just for thought exercises ,maybe can find a new extreme way for cooling , just no more sidepod intake.
look as a pilot side pods are wings shape then as such cooling pull the air in from the top center or under the driver with a scoop floor shape like a inverted flying wing body with this the front wing directs air to the wings the rear wing can be minimized with the above
Someone has suggested that the "lumpy sausage" is some sort of launch joke at M-B expense. However, could this be essentially a duct to send clean hot air into the negative pressure area behind the car ?
What is really striking with this car is the cross section size of the monocoque at the front suspension. And the smoothness of it. Compare it with the Ferrari which runs pushrod instead of pullrod. The aero gains due to floor intaike increase must be insane
I watching this video and reading the comments and I just amazed how F1 fans are blind or didn't see things. Guys this car has 2 air inlet. Have a normal horizontal "catfish "mouth type inlet under the upperbite. And have one horizontal for a second cooling inlet or sort of S-duct for cooling porpuse only ,otherwise is not allowed.
I don't think people are blind. I have yet to see one photo of the car that definitively shows if it either does or does not have a horizontal inlet in addition to the easily visible vertical one. Don't know how you could claim people are blind.
