Let’s face it: there was no wow effect discovering the Red Bull RB19 in the Sakhir pit lane. Adrian Newey didn’t seek surprises with his single-seater which, finally, could be seen after the bogus presentation in New York and the Silverstone filming day which had taken place behind closed doors (some blurry photos had been stolen from which one cannot understood absolutely nothing), but beware the Milton Keynes car has practically nothing equal to the RB18, world champion.
Max Verstappen immediately fast in the tests in Bahrain with the Red Bull RB19
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
As soon as he put it on the track, Max Verstappen immediately showed that the RB19 has no problems by immediately lapping at a pace that put it in front of everyone. So he started right where he left off. Having to deal with a penalty in the development in the wind tunnel, Red Bull presented itself in a rather mature version, already oriented towards the first GP of the season which will take place next week in Bahrain.
The first impression is that this Red Bull manages to produce more downforce than the car that preceded it, because the RB19 presented itself with decidedly flat wings, although the Sakhir track requires a medium-high aerodynamic configuration.
Red Bull RB19: new nose with wider nose and modified front wing
Photo by: George Piola
If we start the observation from the front, we notice the new nose which is more profiled, even if it shows a nose which is more squared in the attack on the second element of the front wing. A vertical Naca intake was chosen to cool the cabin, while last year there was an oval-shaped horizontal one that had a greater air flow.
The front wing has a totally new design: not so much for the main profile which has a less accentuated scoop in the central part and for the second element which performs the load-bearing function (both profiles have a rather long chord), but for the two last flaps that have a very limited surface and incidence compared to the solutions seen in 2022.
The side bulkhead in the upper part is slightly arched outwards to contribute to the out-wash effect, while internally, at the base, it offers us a small horizontal profile in the trailing edge which acts as a small “lid” for the channel it is created with the curly profiling of the four flaps near the endplate. It is a concept that Haas and Mercedes have already developed with slightly different solutions.
Red Bull RB19: the front suspension has the pull rod pattern
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
The front suspension has maintained the pull rod geometry: the kinematics does not seem to have changed much after the good results of the RB18, but it does not go unnoticed with the upper wishbone rear arm still attached to the lower frame, contributing to the down-wash effect of the flows that are oriented towards the vain Venturi.
Red Bull RB19: the front corner with carbon basket and Brembo brake caliper
Photo by: George Piola
The air passages in the front corner have also been revised: the new Brembo caliper seems to have been further lightened and is cooled with various air ducts which make it possible to better control the temperature of the flow which acts as a cavity between the two carbon baskets, the one which insulates the disc and what by regulation must cover the cooling system.
Red Bull RB19: here is the belly with the radiator vent tray and lower recess
Photo by: George Piola
The radiator vents have maintained the well-known design, exacerbating the… tray because the lower opening has been enlarged to increase the air flow towards the bottom. The side reaches its maximum width: the mid-belly flaring that makes the flow descend towards the sidewalk has remained.
The bottom of the Red Bull RB19: note the external bargeboard
Photo by: Adam Cooper
Red Bull has not betrayed the belly that descends towards the bottom, renouncing the Ferrari-style excavation that many have copied with very different solutions, while at the foot of the side the channel that lets the air flow to feed the upper part seems larger of the speaker. In fact, what was once called the Coca-Cola area has disappeared.
Red Bull RB19: look at how much the bottom is exposed under the belly
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
The uncovered area of the bottom under the sidepods is impressive: on the sides of the frame it is clear that Newey has redesigned the metal crosspiece which last year fixed the Venturi channels and served to avoid harmful flexes, limiting the phenomenon of porpoising. In the lightening work it is easy to think that now there is a carbon structure with an important weight saving.
Red Bull maintains the eye-catching bargeboard as the outermost element of the bottom edges: we know it is useful to prevent front wheel turbulence from dirtying the course of the flows in the tunnels. The mouth of the canals is flat: the fences that separate the various ducts protrude from the bottom with a very rounded entrance edge.
Red Bull RB19: The bottom and pavement are very complex
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
The sidewalk has the most complex design among those seen so far: halfway through the car a complex double flap hits which should generate vortices. A little further back, in fact, there is a longitudinal cut in the floor which is raised by 15 mm by regulation. Above there is a carbon cover that rests on the widening: it is a wing profile that starts curved upwards and then becomes horizontal creating a long blow. This composite element is supported by five supports and has the task of helping to generate the pneumatic skirt.
The bottom of the Red Bull RB19 is very worked: the CocaCola area has almost disappeared
Photo by: Adam Cooper
The pavement in front of the rear wheel shows the presence of a small tie rod which must limit the bending of that portion of the bottom which is shaped with a step which makes the trailing edge of the pavement very narrow.
The small Pitot tubes that have been mounted to measure the speed of the air in a strategic area of the single-seater for performance are not surprising.
Red Bull RB19: the bonnet is very profiled. At the rear there is a slit for venting the heat from the radiator located at the top
Photo by: George Piola
The airbox has not changed: it has remained ovalized and seems slightly smaller than that of the RB18: the engine hood is more tapered in the upper part. On the crest there is a very small dorsal fin which has been cut at the tail because a slot has been opened for the heat dissipation of the radiator which has been placed on the 6-cylinder RBPT Honda 001.
Red Bull RB19: here is the radiator mounted on the Honda engine
Photo by: George Piola
The Milton Keynes engineers didn’t want to build a bazooka at the root of the engine cover, because they preferred to keep a flat top surface. Six slits open for Sakhir can be seen in the rounded edge: there can be many more and they can also vary in width.
Red Bull RB19: Observe the air passage that carries the air from the cockpit to the beam wing
Photo by: Adam Cooper
The flaring that can be seen from the attachment of the Halo to the frame is very refined and which allows the flow that is channeled to the sides of the driver’s head to touch the lower part of the engine hood, significantly increasing the efficiency of the beam wing. We expect further very interesting developments in this area.
Red Bull RB19: the rear suspension remains push rod
Photo by: George Piola
The rear suspension is push rod with the kinematic mechanisms inside the gearbox at the top. This made it possible to deliberate a narrower gearbox, allowing the extractor in the central part to take the shape of a ship’s keel.
Red Bull Racing RB19: The extractor in the central part has a keel shape
Photo by: George Piola
The medium-duty rear wing with a main spoon profile is supported by a mono-pylon that integrates the DRS command: this element has been completely redesigned after the problems of the last few years.
What we have briefly described to you are the visible aspects of the RB19, but rest assured that there are other solutions that remain secret for the moment…
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