Red Bull is ahead of schedule in replacing its outdated Formula 1 wind tunnel that Team Principal Christian Horner likens to a “Cold War relic.”
Work began on building a new wind tunnel at Red Bull’s Milton Keynes base in 2024 ahead of completion next year.
That will enable the team to move out of its current wind tunnel facility near Bedford, which is approximately 70 years old and was even used to develop the legendary Concorde aircraft.
Red Bull inherited the wind tunnel when it acquired the Jaguar F1 team at the end of 2004, with it previously being occupied by Arrows until the former Grand Prix minnows folded in 2002.
Red Bull Technical Director Pierre Wache provided an update on the new wind tunnel to motorsport.com, saying: “With the building work and afterwards all the new machines you never know when it’s coming, but we are ahead of the schedule at the moment.
“We are three months ahead of the plans,” Wache added.
“The guys are doing a very good job, but you never know if you get any delays somewhere else. It is a big project.”
Red Bull hoping to reap benefits of new F1 wind tunnel in 2027
The oldest F1 wind tunnel by some margin, Red Bull is at a distinct disadvantage to teams operating modern tech.
Despite updating its wind tunnel with modern tools, Horner referred to it as a “Cold War relic” when Red Bull announced plans to replace it in 2023.
With McLaren completing its own wind tunnel in 2023 and Aston Martin set to bring its new facility on line for this season, Red Bull has catching up to do.
With the wind tunnel set to be completed in 2026, the 2027 Red Bull challenger will be the first machine to wholly benefit.
Speaking in 2023, Horner said: “You don’t want to introduce it in-season, you have to nominate a tunnel for the year, so it will be probably to do the ’27 car in.”
Wache explained: ”It is an old tool that we updated.
“There is plenty of newer stuff inside, but we have some limitations,” he added.
“We know those limitations and we try to work around them, but that is clearly more difficult when you are looking for a small delta.
“It is why we invest in the new tunnel.
“We think we can have a benefit from the new one that we don’t have with the current model.”
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