Red Bull have introduced their much talked about ‘shorter’ nose in Barcelona, which finally passed the FIA crash test after a reported fourth attempt.
The complications in passing the crash test come down to decelerating the impact over a shorter distance, using difficult geometric shapes, whilst trying to remain as light as possible.
It’s an engineering masterpiece that they’ve managed to achieve
– Christian Horner
A re-design of the front-wing mounting pylons sees them lent backwards rather than haunched over the wing, which also increases their height, enabling more airflow to pass under the nose.
A shorter section between the pylons and bulkhead means that the underside of the nose has a much more acute angle, leading the team to introduce a ‘tongue’ extension to the ‘S’ duct [highlighted below in yellow], which now reaches further forward to capture air and feed it to the chassis’ upper surface.
Although the extra airflow under the nose is a welcomed addition, the real goal for Red Bull in introducing this nose was the way in which the nose tip interacts with the front-wings neutral centre section [highlighted below in yellow].
Shortening the body of the nosecone means that the tip and pylons now reside much further back over the neutral section [below], something that Red Bull have gone to great lengths to achieve, as they continue to chase performance.
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