Red Bull must consider the effect of weather on correlation

      In Red Bull have long talked about the problems associated with the outdated wind tunnel located in Bedford, which is located inherited from Jaguar, because it was on the basis of the former factory team Ford two decades ago created Red Bull Racing.

      Last year the team had serious difficulties with the car RB20, and among the main reasons cited were problems with the correlation between the results of studies in the wind tunnel, calculations made using CFD technology, and the picture on the real track. "It can be compared to the situation when you have three watches, and they all show different times, - complained then Christian Horner, the head of the team. - Which one do you believe? In the end you believe the stopwatch on the track, because it does not lie. But after last year's stage in Monza in Red Bull Racing began to achieve gradual improvements: as writes the publication The Race, this was primarily due to the fact that the team began to better understand what features of their wind tunnel affect the results of research, which are carried out in it. At the base in Milton Keynes is under construction a new modern wind tunnel, and, of course, in the construction of its construction takes into account such a factor as the British weather, which also affects the results of research, which is carried out in the wind tunnel. The building complex that houses the old wind tunnel dates back to 1947 and was originally used to blow out model airplanes. In 2004, the Jaguar team purchased the facility from Arrows, along with equipment already adapted to the tasks associated with motorsport, and since then the wind tunnel has been regularly modernized. But these works affected primarily the equipment that is located inside the building, but its old concrete walls are not able to fully provide the necessary insulation from the effects of fluctuations in temperature and humidity. In the world of Formula 1, all nuances matter, and last year in Red Bull tried to take into account the impact of the weather factor, although it b Horner then explained that when temperatures outside fall below 5 degrees, it was no longer possible to conduct research, and when in the summer period exceeded 25 degrees, the equipment gave quite unstable data. "The main problems are related to the accuracy and reproducibility of the results - confirmed Pierre Vacher, technical director of Red Bull Racing. - When you start to develop a new concept, this wind tunnel can work perfectly well. Difficulties appear stronger when the dynamics of research becomes more linear - then it is more difficult to work, because we are very dependent on the temperatures, on the British weather. The variation of data when working in cold and hot conditions is quite large, and this creates very serious problems. We tried to improve the internal thermal insulation, over the years made significant progress, but there are a number of physical aspects that can not be influenced. Of course, it affects the pace of our research compared to other teams, but I do not want to look for excuses". Currently, work on the construction of a new wind tunnel is in full swing, the construction should be completed next year, and if all the deadlines are met, the team will be able to already there to engage in the development of chassis for the season 2027. But until then, both Red Bull Racing and the subsidiary team Racing Bulls will have to put up with the imperfections of the tools that are at their disposal now.