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RB’s challenge for sixth in the Formula 1 constructors’ championship has been boosted by the adoption of Red Bull Racing’s 2024-specification rear suspension for the Las Vegas Grand Prix onwards.
While the battle between Alpine, Haas and RB might not capture the imagination of much of the watching world, it's hugely significant because the difference in prize money between eighth and sixth is in excess of $20million - on top of the competitive desire of all teams to finish as high as possible. RB’s currently eighth, but sixth-placed Alpine is only five points ahead.
Suspension is not among the ‘listed team components’ that teams must design themselves, meaning RB is able to use suspension produced by its sister team. However, it has created its own aerodynamic shrouds for the various suspension arms as these are listed.
Although RB only declared in the car upgrade submissions document released on Thursday night in Las Vegas that its suspension leg orientations had been modified and the profiles realigned, this is because the regulations only demand bodywork changes to be revealed in the upgrade documentation issued by the FIA.
The sporting regulations state that “each competitor must provide a summary document to the media delegate listing the name and brief description of all major aerodynamic and bodywork components and assemblies that have not been run at a previous competition or TCC [test] and are intended to be run at the competition”.
Accompanying the RB suspension change are modifications designed to improve the aerodynamic performance, partly facilitated by the change to the mechanical platform. This includes the lowering of the ramp at the back of the sidepods and new winglets in the rear inner corner. There’s also a lower-drag wing-mirror casing to suit the demands of the Las Vegas circuit.
“It's a new rear suspension, so it gives us both an aerodynamic update and a mechanical update,” said RB racing director Alan Permane. “It should improve laptime.
“We’ve got a small bodywork updates. There's a bodywork and a brake drum furniture update as well. All those areas interact and that's why all three parts are updated.”
RB has always used Red Bull suspension components, although often that was limited to specifications a year or more old. However, the new regulations in 2022 meant that it had the latest spec all that season, and it carried that version into 2023.
At last year’s Singapore GP, it adopted the 2023 Red Bull rear suspension, which was then used for much of this year. That trick has been repeated, albeit a little later in the year.
Permane described the timing as a “conscious decision to take it from here, rather than take it earlier in the season”.
Although Permane didn't give a specific reason for that, potentially the fact the team was still troubleshooting aerodynamic problems in the early races after the summer break played a part in the decision
He also paid tribute to the efforts of his team for having it ready.
“I don't want to say it was easy,” said Permane of the challenge of introducing the new rear suspension. “It's what we're good at, it's what teams are good at, bringing in updates and changing things and developing cars and making prototype parts very quickly and getting them onto cars.
“So it's been a fantastic job by everyone, certainly in our factory in Faenza, to get this firstly pre-fitted, and everything going together well, and then getting quantities here for us to race with.”
RB’s season has been a difficult one, with a lengthy spell mid-season when it struggled with development pace relative to its midfield rivals having started the year strongly. However, upgrades since the August break have allowed it to get back on track and the team is confident it can battle at the head of the midfield pack for the rest of the season.
“It should be good,” said Permane of the performance gain from the upgrade and the boost for RB’s chances of finishing sixth in the championship.
“From what we see in our offline sims and in our simulator, it gives us a little bit.
“If we put three perfect weekends together, we can do the job.
“Some of it depends on where Aston Martin are, honestly, and they've been a little bit up and down. They were certainly down in Brazil, but I'd expect them to bounce back from that as well. So it depends on where they are and what points are available.
“We need to make sure we just do the best job we can and be the top of that midfield group.”
As the rear suspension specification will be carried over into 2025, the final three events will also allow the gathering of vital data that can influence the development of next year’s car.
If all goes as planned, this is therefore a double whammy that will pay off with immediate performance as well as improved early-season pace next year.
