Has Red Bull found evidence of the RB20’s problems?

Red Bull is open to the fact that it needs to quickly improve the performance of its RB20 if it does not want to lose both Formula 1 championships this year.

But saying what you want is one thing, actually doing it is another – especially since you don’t yet have a clear explanation for what went wrong.

We can forget about wild conspiracy theories about the FIA ​​asking for devices to be removed from their cars. Instead, Red Bull’s problems are all of their own making.

Although no definitive information has yet been released as to what happened, team boss Christian Horner provided a fascinating hint after the Italian GP as to a possible cause of the problems.

Speaking about the balance issues that are hurting the car, Horner said: “It’s disconnected front and rear. We can see that.

“Our wind tunnel doesn’t say that, but the track does. So you have to be on top of that, because if you have that, it obviously means you can’t trust your tools. Then you have to go back to track data and previous experience.”

Could a wind tunnel problem – something that has only come to light in recent weeks – be the cause of the problems?

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

To find out, we’re going to try to figure out where things went wrong for the team and look at how they tried to fix things.

In terms of results and car handling, the Miami Grand Prix appears to have been the turning point, not just for Red Bull but for those chasing it, as McLaren unveiled its first major update of the season, catapulting it to victory and giving it a much more usable platform at every event.

Meanwhile, Mercedes entered the fray with its own, larger update package arriving in Monaco.

Ferrari had also been at the head of the pack until about this time, before the problems in Canada and then the difficulties caused by the return of the high-speed noise of the Spanish GP floor. This was another example of a team finding that the simulation tools were saying one thing and the real car another.

Red Bull is apparently aware that there may be a correlation problem in the wind tunnel. During the past few races, the company has tested numerous components from its update archive in order to find a safe solution that would not compromise performance too much.

In addition to fixing the problems, Red Bull has also tried to improve the RB20, resulting in an almost relentless development program with updates being introduced at every race except Austria and Belgium.

Looking at the timeline of updates since Miami, we can see how much has changed in RB20 over that time period and how much of the program is split between long-term goals and short-term goals.

Red Bull RB20 front wing comparison

Photo by: Not mentioned

Red Bull RB20 sidepod bodywork & intake comparison

Photo by: Not mentioned

The magnitude of the changes makes it clear that if there is one part that has gone wrong, it is difficult to know what it is.

For Red Bull this also seems like new territory, as it has not really experienced the problems that its rivals have had in the past three seasons. The development hit rate has always been relatively good and has delivered more or less what was expected.

This means that the government must not only learn how to deal with the current problem, but also understand why it happened so that it cannot happen again in the future.

The most important thing now is to find out which tools are reliable and which you can rely on.

As Horner said: “It’s not uncommon that when something doesn’t work on the car, you end up with different measurements from your simulation tools, and they don’t come together. Then you get three sets of data: you get CFD, you get wind tunnel and you get track.

“Of course the track data is the most important, but developing that is like telling the time with three different watches. You have to focus on the tool that gives you the most valuable input, and of course the track data is the most reliable.”

Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

The big question is how long it will take for Red Bull to find the answers to its problems and how much development work that has been done or is still ongoing at the factory will have to be halted as a result.

Like others in a similar situation, the consequences of dealing with this can be serious.

If a team is focused on collecting data from old parts to track down problems, it means the focus is not on delivering improvements that make the process faster.

So if you also have rivals who are on the rise, the performance gap between you and them can quickly become large.

This is a development latency that is not visible, but can not only be detrimental to the rest of the campaign, but can also have consequences for the future.

Another factor that has not received much attention is that Pirelli has had a period in the Formula 1 calendar where minimum tyre pressures have been increased to better match the demands of the circuits they visit.

This can also lead to a car straying further from its operational limits, either mechanically or aerodynamically, while the two are of course intrinsically linked.