tranquility2k9
Podium Finisher
I've just read an article written by James Allen:- http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2011/...-qualifying-but-mclaren-is-close-in-the-race/
He states that one of the reasons why McLaren are closer to Red Bull on race pace compared to qualifying is because of their respective drag reduction systems and rear wing planes. Essentially, Red Bull gains more in qualifying from their DRS than McLaren do, but then McLaren's rear wing is better in the race on straights where the DRS is not enabled, and additionally gives a little more overall downforce.
A good technical explanation of this was written in one of the comments by malcolm.strachan who said:-
"It's not so much that the RB7 has a steep upper element (or flap), it's due to being shorter. Since the rule states a maximum slot gap rather than a maximum angle, a shorter flap will obviously sweep more of an angle than the longer flap.
The result is that when the DRS is open, the Red Bull's shorter flap is almost horizontal, whereas the McLaren’s longer flap still has a relatively steep angle of attack.
But when it is closed, the RB7 suffers because that slot gap is further back in the chord, and therefore has a slightly smaller effect on generating more downforce. The longer flap of the McLaren helps generate more downforce for less drag as that slot is now closer to the front, thus speeding up the airflow under the main element that little bit more"
Another point related to this that I think is another reason why Red Bull have a big qualifying advantage is because their car generates inherently more downforce than any other car, they can naturally use their DRS more and gain further lap time. In one respect, this looks omninous for their competitors, but another way to look at it, is that, when other teams manage to add more downforce to their car, they will not only gain the lap time from that downforce, but also by being able to use their DRS earlier out of the corners. If you look at it this way, then the gap Red Bull has, isn't actually as big as it seems and I think without the DRS, the gap between Red Bull and their main rivals would be a few tenths closer in qualifying.
It will be interesting to see if McLaren move closer to Red Bull's DRS design to gain extra qualifying pace, or whether Red Bull move further towards McLaren's design to gain more race pace, whilst losing a little of its large 1 lap advantage.
Interesting stuff.
He states that one of the reasons why McLaren are closer to Red Bull on race pace compared to qualifying is because of their respective drag reduction systems and rear wing planes. Essentially, Red Bull gains more in qualifying from their DRS than McLaren do, but then McLaren's rear wing is better in the race on straights where the DRS is not enabled, and additionally gives a little more overall downforce.
A good technical explanation of this was written in one of the comments by malcolm.strachan who said:-
"It's not so much that the RB7 has a steep upper element (or flap), it's due to being shorter. Since the rule states a maximum slot gap rather than a maximum angle, a shorter flap will obviously sweep more of an angle than the longer flap.
The result is that when the DRS is open, the Red Bull's shorter flap is almost horizontal, whereas the McLaren’s longer flap still has a relatively steep angle of attack.
But when it is closed, the RB7 suffers because that slot gap is further back in the chord, and therefore has a slightly smaller effect on generating more downforce. The longer flap of the McLaren helps generate more downforce for less drag as that slot is now closer to the front, thus speeding up the airflow under the main element that little bit more"
Another point related to this that I think is another reason why Red Bull have a big qualifying advantage is because their car generates inherently more downforce than any other car, they can naturally use their DRS more and gain further lap time. In one respect, this looks omninous for their competitors, but another way to look at it, is that, when other teams manage to add more downforce to their car, they will not only gain the lap time from that downforce, but also by being able to use their DRS earlier out of the corners. If you look at it this way, then the gap Red Bull has, isn't actually as big as it seems and I think without the DRS, the gap between Red Bull and their main rivals would be a few tenths closer in qualifying.
It will be interesting to see if McLaren move closer to Red Bull's DRS design to gain extra qualifying pace, or whether Red Bull move further towards McLaren's design to gain more race pace, whilst losing a little of its large 1 lap advantage.
Interesting stuff.