14/06/2013
FEATURE BY MATT SOMERFIELD
Red Bull arrived in Montreal looking back over the last few years at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as missed opportunities. Vettel had taken pole position in both 2011 and 2012 but failed to convert his start position into a race win. This would surely frustrate a character such as Vettel who collects, pole positions, fastest laps and wins. The team, as usual, continues to push on with developments for the RB9 and although at first they may not seem obvious they were significant.
The front wing had been equipped with small vertical guide strakes on the mainplane and secondary flaps strengthening the vortices created by the wing. This is an ever more important factor in 2013 with the tyres deforming vertically, creating more of an inconsistent airflow regime around the tyre and in its wake. The front tyre’s wake is crucial as its flow and vortices shaped in and around it toward the splitter, leading edge of the floor and sidepods. Getting this flow wrong or right can be the difference not only in front wing performance but onward to constructing airflow to area's like the exhaust and Diffuser.
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During pre-season testing Red Bull tested two different variants of the nose on the RB9, they have favoured the 'Hammerhead' design for the first six rounds of the season but in Montreal the team applied a version similar to the other one tested in Barcelona. There are three key differences with this nose, all of which were designed to cater for the circuits characteristics. The FOM cameras were moved rearward out of the 'Hammerhead' position, the new placement would reduce the overall capacity for the nose to generate front end downforce helping the team to shift the aerodynamic balance of the car rearward. The vanity panel used to disguise the abhorrent look of 2012's step noses was also redesigned, losing the tapered section on the edge of where the step used to reside. Lastly, although not as apparent as the Lotus variant, a bulge we call the 'Pelican' due to its similarity to a Pelican's throat pouch. The idea of which is to manipulate the airflow that passes under the nose onward to the turning vanes and then the splitter.
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Further downstream the team increased the slots ahead of the rear wheels to three in order to further combat the effects of 'tyre squirt' aiding in the quest to control the dynamic effects of this year tyres mentioned above.
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Brake duct fins are another area of constant evolution for the teams and have become a particular focus of attention due to their close proximity to the deformation of the Pirelli tyres. Red Bull made minor changes in this area analysing the area and using flo-viz, taking time and interest throughout the free practice sessions.
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The team added perforations or slots to the central diffuser strakes, this will allow airflow to migrate from one side to the other thereby creating a vortex. This will help to create a stronger airflow in the central portion of the diffuser which is especially helpful when the driver is off throttle (cornering).
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Ferrari approached the Montreal GP having had a string of upgrades available for the last two races that never made it onto the cars come race day. Different aerodynamic setups were applied to both drivers cars for qualifying and the race as seen in the side-by-side comparison below:
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Like Red Bull, Ferrari also arrived with a new front wing aimed at altering the vortices shed by it, with a view to altering the dynamic wheel wake. In the case of Ferrari this was achieved by a radical design change to the cascade.
Previously attached and utilising the endplate for increased aspect ratio the new cascade features a curved element that sprouts from the mainplane. This enables a clearer airflow to reach the tiered outer section of the front wing increasing its efficiency and ability to shed organised and strengthened vortices.
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The nose sees two changes with the sculptured pylons being changed to increase the length of the slope, this was done in combination with the team adding a chin to the underside of the nose. Both of these changes are undertaken in order to realign the onward airflow. Furthermore the team also moved the FOM cameras from the base of the front wing pylons to either side of the nosecone, weakening the Y250 vortices created by the mandated section of front wing but creating new ones outside of the nose.
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Having utilised scoopless front brake ducts this season the team added a cooling inlet to cater for the high temperature and braking demands of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
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The additional cockpit canards that appeared ahead of the wing mirrors a few races ago were retained, and although likely to aid the two rearward ones - in either spec - were likely designed in combination with the new sidepod airflow conditioners that curve over the top of the sidepod’s inlet.
Alonso ran the new specification that Massa tested in Barcelona which split into two with the forward element curving over the top of the sidepod’s inlet. This cockpit wing is something we saw both Sauber and McLaren utilise during 2012 when they made alterations to the length / orientation of their 'Coanda' exhaust setup. The cockpit wing acts as a leading edge slat enabling the sidepod to work over a wider range, thus enabling an alteration to the length of the exhaust and surrounding bodywork. This change is not only of aerodynamic benefit in terms of targeting the exhaust plumes trajectory onto the floor of the F138 but will change the exhaust tuning length and therefore its properties.
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Mercedes introduced a new engine cover for montreal, reminiscent of the Ferrari design it features a much smaller cooling outlet and in order to align with the dimensional aspects of the engine cover it tapers into a shark fin.
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Lotus, like Red Bull, have been utilising the 'Pelican' nose to alter the airflow received by the elements rearward of the nose. For Montreal the team removed the Pelican which undoubtedly was a decision made in order to suit the low downforce characteristics of the circuit.
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Williams has, like other teams, struggled with certain aerodynamic aspects of their 2013 challenger but they are tenaciously trying to rectify them. Having used elements that resembled the FW34 recently they arrived in Montreal with a new front wing and nosecone. The front wing is a much closer example of those used on the FW34 than the options used so far this season, encouraging outbound vortices to control the tyre wake. The nose sees the team lower the tip significantly compared to the high one used so far this season effectively changing their original ethos of driving as much air under the nose as possible.
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To make use of the additional vortices created by the front wing, the team added a perforated floor scroll.
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The team also cracked out a lower downforce rear wing, which I like to call the 'Boomerang', that it also used in Montreal in 2012.
Sauber introduced a new nose with a higher tip and a much deeper 'Pelican' bulge.
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Toro Rosso, like Williams, sported a rear wing like its previous iteration for the 2012 Montreal GP.
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Like its sister team the Faenza outfit has now also added some cooling around the rear suspension that also aids with the airflow into the Coke bottle region.
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Note: All pictures can be found in higher resolution here.