Formula One: New exhaust system key to Red Bull speed, McLarens, Ferrari, Renault try to emulate
A few Formula One teams have come up with upgrades to their exhaust systems recently by introducing exhaust driven diffusers. A few more teams are expected to follow the lead before the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. However, the popularity of this new extremely effective upgrade to increase down force and speed of the car is purely accidental.
As everyone believes now, the secret to Red Bull’s pace this year has been their exhaust driven diffusers engineered by Red Bull’s Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey. The revised exhaust system has a low exit with exhaust placed over the diffuser. The opening on the diffuser allows the exhaust gas to pass into the diffuser rather than above it. With the flow of this high speed exhaust gas into the diffuser, the car gets more down force and more speed. The inflow of the exhaust gas into the diffuser and amount of down force generated is dependent on the position of the exhaust over the diffuser, and hence it is ideally placed to have the optimum amount of down force for the car.
Exhaust driven diffusers have been very common in Formula One before the introduction of periscope exhaust systems in the nineties. However, the optimum placement of exhaust over the diffuser is something that only Red Bull came up with. Apparently no one knew about the new system run by Red Bull until the Spanish Grand Prix when the camera caught it. No one has been able to identify it on or off the track because Red Bull had put stickers on their car that concealed the position of exhaust over the diffuser and instead showed fake exhaust outlets exiting the rear of the RB6 engine cover.
However, with the reality exposed, many teams jumped the opportunity to have the new exhaust system installed. Ferrari, Mercedes GP and Renault were the first ones to emulate the system and they had it in place for the race weekend in Valencia. With the introduction of exhaust-blown diffuser, Ferrari also introduced a gearbox case for Massa’s F10 to raise the rear suspension which will in turn accommodate the new exhaust system configuration. Renault has done the same, introducing both new exhaust system and gearbox casing, with the addition of thermal protection to the exhaust against high temperatures. Mercedes GP has also introduced shorter exhaust pipes and lower body work but unlike Ferrari and Renault, they haven’t installed a new gearbox casing.
McLaren Mercedes and Force India are expected to be equipped with the new exhaust system at the British GP, which according to McLaren’s Engineering Director Paddy Lowe, will improve lap times by about half a second each lap. McLaren believe that although such changes in the middle of a racing season is not an ideal scenario when there is a ban on testing. However, these upgrades will bring about significant performance improvements nonetheless. A big challenge for McLaren at this point in time is coping with the high temperatures the new system is expected to generate but the team is still upbeat about its success.
Ferrari that has been lagging behind McLaren and Red Bull for some races now came into Valencia with these upgrades and it was expected that this will give a major boost to their championship. McLaren without these upgrades installed for them feared that Ferrari will gain some ground on them, but McLaren proved to be stronger of the two packages as Hamilton and Button nailed yet another strong performance. With the upgrades added, McLaren expects to further improve the car and believe that in coming races, they will be able to stamp their authority on their rivals.
The introduction of exhaust-blown diffuser has added a new twist to the season. While McLaren’s lead the championship, their successes are being attributed to mistakes from Red Bull drivers. It is believed that McLaren will be more in control and less dependent upon luck for the rest of the season.
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