Red Bull has brought further revisions to the floor of its RB21, first introduced at Monza, for the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, as it hopes to continue its resurgent form.
The Milton Keynes-based squad has seen a change in fortunes since introducing the floor at the Italian GP, with Max Verstappen taking the first of three victories over the last five races.
It is now tweaking the design once again, with, as per the FIA’s entry list document, “subtle revisions to the upper surface at the radiator duct inlet and to the sidepod split line.”
Red Bull has also tweaked the edge wing of the floor, as well as an enlarged front brake inlet and redistributed topbody exit areas to increase air flow due to the heat and pressure the car will be placed under due to the high altitude.
When asked why the topbody exits, or ‘louvres’, were different to that of its rivals, Red Bull’s Chief Engineer Paul Monaghan explained to media including Motorsport Week: “Well, we are allowed to be different, so we choose to be.
“With the top body exit…if you go and look at a certain orange car, you’ll see some exits down by the wishbones.
“Us, we choose to bring out a combination by the louvres and by the central exit.
“And what you choose to distribute, you choose to distribute. A different way to look at it is how much air do you need to push through your side pods to get the cooling.
“Once you’ve done that, then you’ve got an indication of your exit area.Most cars are exit limited, not inlet limited.
“So you open up the exit first and how they choose to do it is down to their top body shape and how they spell it on the rear wing.”
What Red Bull’s rivals have or have not brough to Mexico
McLaren has opted to bring no new parts to its car, with Ferrari playing safe and opting for extra cooling louvres and a changed rear corner to improve air flow.
Alpine has gone down a similar route with a revised engine cover, with Racing Bulls doing likewise, as well as extra louvres.
Williams and Sauber have also opted for the same louvre additions, the former more than likely requiring such an implementation given its track record this season with overheating.
Mercedes, Aston Martin and Haas have all opted, like McLaren, to continue with the status quo and keep their cars the same.
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