Red Bull: this is how Verstappen’s RB21 got back to flying

If Max Verstappen was able to obtain pole position for the Abu Dhabi GP, a substantial part of the credit also goes to the team’s technicians and this cannot go unnoticed. The engineers of the Milton Keynes team have, in fact, reversed the behavior of the RB21 after Friday’s FP2, allowing it to regain an astonishing competitiveness that was by no means a given. The car had in fact adopted a setup that guaranteed little load, with Max complaining above all about a strong lack of traction.

recipe

—

The recipe could only apparently be considered simple, in fact, excessively increasing the downforce (aerodynamic force that “squeezes” the car downwards) to favor traction when exiting corners, specifically in the third sector, would have automatically slowed down the car in the two long straights. In essence, finding the right compromise was a decidedly less banal operation than one might think. It is in fact important to underline that Max, after FP3, having rediscovered a valid feeling with the rear end of his car, still found a slight understeer, as an induced consequence, but preferred not to add load to the front end in view of qualifying. Precisely because, in terms of driving sensation, he felt the car was fast on straight stretches and did not want to compromise the efficiency of the RB21.

the right mix

—

The mix was achieved not only with a rear wing with a flap section specifically increased through increased incidence, but also with an adjustment of the mechanical setup. In essence, the load distribution was completely remapped, assessing that a prevalence at the rear (although not excessively marked) would provide a tangible performance advantage. The Milton Keynes team has accustomed us to miraculous recoveries in terms of performance during race weekends. A prerogative, it is fair to reiterate, which seemed to be a peculiarity acquired above all during Adrian Newey’s twenty years of presence in the team. Evidently, “The Genius” left a legacy to Pierre Wachè and his collaborators such as Paul Monaghan, head of track engineers, and Gampiero Lambiase, Max’s track engineer, a methodology that was not abandoned after his departure from the team last year. In short, paradoxical as it may seem, Newey’s influence is still felt in Milton Keynes.