Why Red Bull could end F1 title drought

Red Bull

Why Red Bull could end F1 title drought

Red Bull runs an extreme high-rake car philosophy

Ewan Gale

Wednesday 17 March 2021 08:00

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How does Mercedes differ?

The Mercedes is much more lateral across the length of the floor compared to the tilt of the Red Bull

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With a low-rake philosophy, Mercedes aims to create the same volume of air underneath the car by maximising the floor area ahead of the diffuser, rather than trying to 'extend' the diffuser.

What this means is that because the airflow is more consistent underneath the car, rather than being accelerated as with a high-rake philosophy, more stability can be achieved with the generated downforce.

This is a difficult concept to master, however, and is a big part of the reason the team has created so-called 'divas' in recent years. On the other hand, it is a major player as to why Mercedes has been so dominant in recent years.

When Racing Point - now Aston Martin - switched to a low-rake concept last season, performance improved. At some races, however, the team was left bemused by performance drop-off, particularly in the wind at Silverstone, proving how difficult the concept can be to perfect.

Why have the new rules hurt Mercedes?

The new regulations have taken away a triangular area from the floor in front of the rear wheels, reducing the overall surface area. This has hurt Mercedes' ability to create a sufficient volume of air pressure in front of the diffuser.

Secondly, the gill-like cut-outs seen on the sides of floors in recent years have been banned, meaning Mercedes' own 'ground-effect impersonation is a lot more difficult to achieve without these enclosed holes to seal in air that passes underneath.

The dramatic loss in downforce as intended by the regulations was clear to see with the German manufacturer's struggles in Bahrain.

Whilst Red Bull has also lost downforce with the rule changes, it still has the ability to generate downforce through the acceleration of air underneath the front of the car, in essence reducing the effect of the regulation changes.

It is worth noting that as a high-rake concept virtually extends the diffuser, McLaren's clever interpretation of the diffuser-strake regulations has achieved a similar effect.

So whilst Red Bull and AlphaTauri have looked planted to the race track, Mercedes and Aston Martin often squirmed around the Bahrain International Circuit.

Can Red Bull take advantage of the rule changes and take the challenge to Mercedes? It looks like the answer is yes.