How Red Bull could bounce back

Naturally, at this time of the season, teams are running a development race, that's probably tougher than the one on track. Without proper testing, these last few years of development have been rather dodgy, and it's always a situation of "will they or won't they?" regarding the functionality of new parts on a car. Red Bull are currently dwelling deep in that pit of uncertainty regarding their exhaust layout and straight line speed. There are several areas Red Bull should be paying attention to in order to work out a development plan and make progress.

Exhaust. Sebastian Vettel ran the launch-spec car in China but will revert back to the newer exhaust solution in Bahrain. It transpired that the team used the race in Shanghai as an extended test to compare the two layouts in order to gather more data, and Vettel ran the older exhaust as he is struggling to adapt to the newer configuration. It's an area that appears to be the focus of Red Bull's attention at the moment, and if it has made any progress between races then it could see both Webber and Vettel closer to the front. 

Vettel (left) vs Webber (right) exhaust designs in China 

Front wing. The exhaust is not the only area that Red Bull should be focusing on. The tougher front wing load tests have also lost the team some time, compared to last season. Last year we regularly saw the RB7’s front wing almost scraping the ground at times. Being able to run the front wing that low to the ground brought a significant aerodynamic gain. This is something that Red Bull’s rivals found very difficult to copy. Now, with the new regulations, they seemed to have lost that efficiency.

RB's new nose duct offered them less than expected

DDRS. Another problem Red Bull are going to have to contend with is having to develop Mercedes' super DRS system now that it has been declared legal. Whilst they are spending time and human resources on it,  Mercedes can put their resources in to other developments. Other teams will spend time copying the system too, but it is Red Bull who desperately need a boost in straight-line speed and the double DRS seems to be the solution.

The DDRS leads the air to exit under the front wing

Balance. In China, Vettel explained that the problem they have is related to the balance of the car. It's not a question of downforce, but of ensuring that all the parts are behaving as a whole. Due to the balancing issues, the car tends to be faster at some point, and slower at another time. In cold conditions, the car is not up to pace, while in the warm, it tends to respond better to the driver.

McLaren vs. Red Bull

We can compare the McLaren and the Red Bull in the image above. First of all it is clearly noticeable that the driver is positioned more forward in the Red Bull chassis compared to the McLaren. This feature allows for longer and narrower sidepods, creating more freedom for the aerodynamicists working at the rear of the car. It is also likely moving the centre of gravity of the car forward, although this can be re-adjusted with ballast. This is probably where the balancing issue comes from. 

Secondly, it also appears that the Red Bull is slightly shorter than the McLaren, although that might be irrelevant and not really benchmark for measuring performance. 

Breakdown

The RB8 is not a slow car. Yet, there are two reasons why the team is not running a dominant campaign this time around: the blown diffuser ban + front wing adjustments, and the higher competition from their rivals. It's important for the team to recognize that it's not just one part of the car that will boost them ahead, but the whole package must be intact, which the new car is not really enjoying at the moment. But with Adrian Newey onboard, Red Bull should feel confident about gaining momentum sooner rather than later.