Two years after its introduction, Red Bull’s DRS still misunderstood
The technical director of Red Bull, Pierre Waché, was surprised that the other teams still haven't grasped the subtlety of their DRS.
Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen’s RB19 is absolutely formidable this year, and there is no doubt that the Dutchman will go for his third consecutive title. But what stands out the most on this machine is its DRS, which some describe as magical. The advantage that Red Bull gains when the DRS is open comes from their wing, which differs from other teams, but also intrigues them.
« What’s crazy is that people are still talking about it two years after we introduced it », said the technical director of the world champion team, Pierre Waché, to Autosport. « We underwent hundreds of tests by the FIA to check if we had any tricks or anything like that, and people don’t understand why the advantage disappears on tracks with very high grip. »
It was Lewis Hamilton who had actually raised this question after stealing the pole position from the Red Bull team at the Hungaroring at the end of July. “« Suddenly, they no longer have the advantage of the DRS that they had before. Where did it go?”, wondered the British driver. “»”.
The DRS allows Red Bull to reduce drag
But where the RB19 excels is in its great rear stability, which allows for a smaller beam wing compared to the competition and consequently, a better balanced drag between the rear wing and the beam wing. The rear wing therefore contributes to a larger portion of the drag in straight line and DRS phases, further reducing air resistance.
A few months ago, former F1 driver and SkySports commentator, Karun Chandhok, explained that the Red Bulls were losing nearly 25% of their drag with the DRS open on suitable circuits.
On circuits where downforce is more important than aerodynamic efficiency (as is the case in Hungary), Red Bull does the same as the others, by using a larger wing to take advantage in the corners, thus reducing the effectiveness of the DRS.
