Renault to Red Bull: Apologize or go pound sand.

Red Bull will have to write a public letter of apology if it wants engines for 2016.  

That is the request made by Renault's chief Carlos Ghosn as the condition to continue supplying the Austro-British team with engines next season according to European media sources.

Renault have Red Bull by the short and curlies: they can grovel or go pound sand.

Red Bull Logic

Red Bull wants an engine, but not any engine, they want the same exact one that will push Vettel and Raikkonen next year.

If they don't get it, they say they will quit.

Mercedes already told them where they can go, Ferrari has offered them this year's engine for next year, at a hefty price.

Perhaps the Red Bull boys should have thought this through before shitting all over Renault.  

Ecclestone got in the middle of it all saying "Ferrari is scared" of providing RBR with an equal engine.   Curiously F1's big man has not said the same of Mercedes who refused outright.  Go figure....

Red Bull are certainly in the position to hurt F1 if they pull out of the sport, but it will probably cost them more in penalties than it would to limp along for the remaining 5 years of their commitment.

It's possible Red Bull had been counting on VW-Audi to get involved though given the timeline of the Diesel-gate scandal, it's hard to imagine they must have gotten much encouragement from Ingolstadt recently.

For months there have been suggestions Red Bull might seek to buy out CVC and gain control of the commercial side of the sport.   Everything is for sale for the right price I suppose but the idea seems too incestuous even for F1.

On the other hand, Red Bull certainly know how to organize things....   except F1 engine supplies.

Would Mercedes really give Red Bull a competitive engine?

via Autosprint

That was the first thing that came to mind when the rumor of a deal that would have brought Mercedes power to Red Bull Racing.

However, a recent issue of Autosprint lays out a scenario that is, at the very least, intriguing to follow.

Let me summarize:

Next year Red Bull Racing would run a Mercedes Power Unit while junior team Toro Rosso would continue to use Renault.

The deal was started at the Monaco GP and would see Aston Martin come in as a sponsor on the RBR cars,  taking the place of Infiniti.    The engines would not be re-badged as Astons.

When Sergio Marchionne, in Montreal, declared he would be happy to provide Ferrari power to Red Bull, he was trying to derail a deal which had yet to be finalized because for Ferrari a Mercedes powered Red Bull is a problem, on track but also commercially.  There is the missed opportunity to sell €22Mllion worth of engines (yeah, that's for two engine supplies to one team!) and the added exposure F1 would provide Aston Martin, a direct competitor in road cars.

A deal between RBR and Mercedes, Autosprint continues, had been in the works years ago but had been blocked by McLaren.

The final turning point came at the Austrian GP with Dietrich Mateschitz  threatening to leave F1 because of Renault.  This shook not just Ecclestone who desperately needs a rival to the Silver Arrows for 2016 but also Mercedes who have interest in seeing the series thrive (as long as they are on top anyway).


Enter Aston Martin. In late 2013, AMG Mercedes signed a deal to supply engines for Aston Martin road cars and Mercedes has promised to acquire a 5% stake in the British car maker which is currently devided between an Italian private equity firm, Investindustrial, at 37.5%, The Kuwaiti Sovereign fund and David Richards among others.

Adrian Newey and Red Bull Technologies will, as part of the deal,. to be collaborating with Aston Martin on a future top of the line car..

grandprix247.com

Niki Lauda had dismissed the notion at Silverstone but Toto Wolff was quiet.  Rumors have Lauda vehemently against furnishing a team with financial and technical capabilities to be a direct competitor with Wolff taking a longer term view with the welfare of the series in mind.

The deal became possible, always according to Autosprint, because Renault has finalized the purchase of 51% of Lotus (We have only been able to independently confirm top level talks have been taking place but nothing has been finalized yet).

The stake in Lotus would eventually increase but Renault is said to have asked Ecclestone for a dispensation so that the team may officially enter the 2016 season as Renault without the economic (revenue share) penalties of entering as a new team.    2016 cars would sport the traditional yellow and black of the Regie.

Winners and losers?  Red Bull gains the best engine available, Mercedes gains the best available client team, gets to monetize engines it was uncertain Lotus would fully pay for and gets to look magnanimous in front of the sport,
Renault would be largely free of the now damaged relationship with Red Bull and with Lotus gain a team which has good infrastructure and is free of much of the debt that saddles other available teams.   Renault would also be in the position to take better advantage of the exposure or running their own team.

Loser?  Certainly Ferrari who in 2016 will have Sauber, Manor and Haas as clients.


Will it happen?  Would Mercedes take the risk?  Would Red Bull accept the possibility of getting  a B-Spec unit?

Stay tuned, meanwhile here is Rosberg's pole position lap in Hungary last season.

Renault: It's hard to have a partner who lies.

"It's hard to have a partner who lies."

that rather stunning public statement comes from Cyril Abiteboul, Renault Sport F1's Managing Director in an interview given to France's Auto Hebdo.  

"We started the season with many new technical development,  some very late.   I'm not making excuses,  other managed it, we did not.   Finding ourselves in this situation is scandalous, frustrating and sad."

But, adds Abiteboul, Red Bull's performance deficit is not exclusively Renault's fault.

"Red Bull has some chassis issues, especially when it comes to rear end stability.  This combined with our problem makes for a very difficult car to drive."

Asked to comment on Adrian Newey saying the only problem with the car is the Renault engine, Abiteboul added:

"It's hard to have a partner who lies.    Adrian Newey is a charming gentleman and an outstanding engineer but he spent his life criticizing his engine manufacturers, he's too old to change."

Red Bull Busted....but.

Vettel and Ricciardo will have to start from the back after Red Bull had their qualifying results wiped for having a front wing that did not pass the FIA deflection test.

The team issued a statement to the effect that they accept the penalty but wonder why them.

Following the decision of the Stewards regarding the front wings on both our cars (Car 1 and Car 3), we are disappointed that we have been singled out for a front wing deflection test when it is clear that other teams are interpreting the rules in a similar fashion. 

The team accepts the decision of the Stewards and will start the race from the back of the grid

You'll understand where Red Bull is coming from when you see this clip of the Williams front wing from FP2.

Have a look at the double element visible between the bottom plank and the top left higher winglets.  It flexes multiple inches under load.

Red Bull confirms Sebastian Vettel will not drive for the team in 2015

Red Bull Racing confirmed the four  time World Champion Sebastian Vettel will leave the team at the end of the season.    The dominoes are starting to fall.

Here is the full statement:


Saturday 4 October, 2014

NEW TEAM DRIVER LINE UP FOR 2015

Sebastian Vettel has advised us that he will be leaving Infiniti Red Bull Racing at the end of the 2014 season.

We want to warmly thank Sebastian for the incredible role he has played at Infiniti Red Bull Racing for the last six years.

Since joining the team in 2009, Sebastian, together with Infiniti Red Bull Racing, has scored 38 wins, 44 poles and eight World Championships, including four Drivers’ titles and four Constructors’. If you include Sebastian’s success at Red Bull’s second team, Scuderia Toro Rosso, the Red Bull total increases to 39 wins and 45 poles.

As we wish Sebastian well in the next stage of his career, we also look to the future with excitement, as the vacancy makes way for the next generation of Red Bull racers.

The Red Bull Junior Programme has developed some proven talents in recent times, including Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo, who has excelled in the RB10 and become a three-time Formula One race winner in his first season with the team.

We’re pleased to announce that Daniel will be joined in the team for 2015 by another rising star from the Junior Programme, Daniil Kvyat.

Will Red Bull build their own Infiniti branded engine after 2015?

AutoMotorSport

Reading too much into Helmut Marko's comments to Auto Motor und Sport  or not?

Consider that Red Bull is already heavily involved in building the current car's batteries and their own engineers are writing software for the Renault power unit.  In fact it is  likely Red Bull has resources in that field beyond what is available to Renault Sport at the moment.   The turbo  in the current engine is said to be sourced from Pankl APC, an Austrian engine component manufacturer (think Carillo).  

If the engine is branded as Infiniti, it would not completely break connection with the Renault group but even hinting at this means Red Bull has lost confidence in the ability of the Renault Sport technical staff at Viry-Chatillon, under press Red Bull's top brass has hinted at since the start of the year.

And to think it all started with a odd tasting soft drink, amazing.

On the subject of resources, in their latest issue Autosprint had an interesting analysis of the number of personnel each team has available,  Ferrari has 750.  Red Bull has 600 along with approximately 350 at Renault Sport, 100 at Mecachrome and another 150 machinists.  Mercedes has 550 for the team and 650 working on the engine.

Poisoned letter for Red Bull.

Here's a new one for F1, anonymous letters!

There is a bit of mystery this morning about reposts of an anonymous letter mailed from Switzerland to the FIA, Mercedes, Ferrari and Sauber alleging Red Bull and Renault conducted illegal tests.

The letter, according to Germany's AutoBild and MotorsportTotal, alleges that "a Red Bull Team" conducted six days of testing on a rolling road dyno at the AVL facilities in Graz, Austria between the last pre season test in Bahrain and the Australian GP.   AVL is an independent engine development, simulation and testing facility.

As you remember Red Bull and Renault had disastrous results in pre season testing yet were competitive enough for Daniel Ricciardo to come in second (on track anyway).  

The crux of the issue  is that you can't really test an engine on a rolling road in anything but a 1:1 car and that for F1 cars to work they need to have air blowing through them.     Blowing air over a 1:1 F1 car is restricted.

We can confirm a Toro Rosso was indeed tested but it had no front or rear wings and no air was blown over it.   The rules do allow for testing for the purposes of developing cooling components with the caveat that absolutely no direct or indirect measurements be taken for anything relating to aero load.

The car was tested with hoses attached directly to the the engine air inlets,  something which is specifically allowed (F1 Sporting Regulations appendix 8, 1.2 )

"...The only allowable exceptions from this definition are as follows : 
a) Wind tunnel testing which aims to develop components associated with cooling, or the running of the engine from a boundary commencing at the engine air intake duct, passing through the engine and finishing at the exit of the exhaust tailpipes, provided that there is no direct or indirect measurement of aerodynamic force during the test. In this context, pressure and flow measurements within a duct shall not be considered to be measurements of aerodynamic force. ..."

So if this is not anything illegal, the more interesting question is, who and why would someone mail this letter (or invent that such a letter was sent)?

One year ago this week end: Multi 21

Don't meant to harp on Red Bull, it just kind of worked out that way. One year ago from this week end, Multi 21 entered the public consciousness and nobody has since looked on Sebastian Vettel quite the same way, for better of for worse.

Red Bull Transformer

Red Bull Content Pool

Dammit, Red Bull even does CGI well....so well they even included their Renaults blowing up! Humor aside, a pretty amazing video.

From the accompanying press release:

"A new clip from Red Bull sees Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel explain the 2014 Formula One regulations – which are arguably the most complex the sport has ever seen.

At the start, thousands of car parts simultaneously assemble around Dan to form the RB10. As Dan races to catch up Seb in his RB9, the World Champion’s car becomes transparent while travelling at full speed. The film then presents a visual sequence that shows the 2014 regulation changes taking shape and coming to life, as Seb’s car transforms from an RB9 into an RB10.

As well as providing information on the new technical changes for 2014, the clip also presents a unique view of the technology at work inside this year’s Formula One cars."

How's Vettel's final day of testing going?

Yeah,..  not great, an early spin then 70ish laps, which is decent but with a best time over four seconds slower than Hamilton, which is most definitively NOT good.  I fact, even Chilton in the Marussia had a better lap time,  a stat Max will certainly put in his scrapbook.

In the mean time both Button and Bottas stopped on track simply because they have done so many laps their Mercedes engines were toast!   Impressive

P	Driver	Team	Time
1	Hamilton	Mercedes	1m33.278s
2	Bottas	Williams	1m33.987s  +0.709
3	Alonso	Ferrari	1m34.280s  +1.002
4	Hulkenberg	Force India	1m35.577s  +2.299
5	Vergne	Toro Rosso	1m35.701s  +2.423
6	Sutil	Sauber	1m36.467s  +3.189
7	Chilton	Marussia	1m36.835s  +3.557
8	Gutierrez	Sauber	1m37.303s  +4.025
9	Vettel	Red Bull	1m37.468s  +4.190
10	Button	McLaren	1m38.111s  +4.833
11	Kobayashi	Caterham	1m38.391s  +5.113
12	Grosjean	Lotus	1m39.302s  +6.024

All timing unofficial. Updated: 14:55 GMT

How bad was Red Bull's FAIL in Spain?

Locals certainly had a good laugh as Daniel Ricciardo's RB10 never even made it past the garage doors...

Of course the usual "he who laughs last..." business applies.

Hot Gas Management

One of the few area free for engineers to tinker on F1 engines but one seldom discussed are exhausts.    Teams change configurations all the time looking for an edge, often to suit the circuit, none more so than Red Bull.  

Check out a package Red Bull brought to Silverstone.   Note the coated headers and the heat shield cladding over the whole engine.  This is likely all designed with an eye to keeping the internal aero workings of the car efficient and the exhaust plume as energized as possible.

Another development this week end is from Lotus who are finally deploying an reconfigured "double DRS",  a way to stall the rear wing  like the old "F-Duct" used to but without intervention from the driver (as mandated by regulations).

The air is collected in scoops next to the engine air inlet and then blown at low speed in the "monkey seat"  zone.  At high speed the flow is diverted to the periscope structure you see in the picture and up under the wing, making it stall.     As you can imagine tuning this system has to be a mighty challenge but Silverstone will be the perfect testing ground.

WHEN IS TRACTION CONTROL NOT TRACTION CONTROL?...

...When they can't figure out how you do it and you don't get caught.

Traction control has been banned from Formula 1 for years now but anyone sitting by the hairpin turn in Montreal was well aware of Red Bull's superior traction out of  corners.  Vettel certainly smoked everyone off the line at the start and had gained a 2.5 second advantage on Lewis Hamilton by the end of the first lap. There is no doubt the RB9 is hooked up.

A sharp eyed reader of Autosprint noticed Vettel's Webber's car was leaving the curious set of tire marks you see in the picture:  It looks like traction control, it smells like traction control, it certainly sounded like traction control.

What's going on here?  As you can well imagine, if a viewer can spot this on TV, rival teams have been all over it for a while,  complaining to FIA repeatedly we're told.  Despite the best efforts of FIA technical personel, nobody has been able to come up with anything illegal on the RB9.   

Traction control as a specific component is banned but its function is now duplicated by all, with different degrees of success, via engine maps that manipulate torque curves and use partial firing of cylinders to achieve the a similar result.   Mapping is  one of the black arts of modern racing and one essentially impossible to police.  

Even with the insane tech of today's F1 the old maxims still apply: " if you 'ain't cheating, you ain't trying" and " it's only cheating if you get caught".

Carry on.