Newey and his technical team preview 2017
Published on 20 February 2017 by Stefan Meens
Ahead of the two pre-season tests at Barcelona, the Formula 1 teams are working hard to ensure their new cars are ready for the on track action. Red Bull Racing’s core Technical Team – Adrian Newey (Chief Technical Officer), Dan Fallows (Head of Aerodynamics), Rob Marshall (Chief Engineering Officer), Paul Monaghan (Chief Engineer Car Engineering) and Pierre Wache (Chief Engineer Performance Engineering) preview the new season and how its new regulations provided challenges when designing the new cars.
What do you think of the new regulations for 2017?
Waché: “The change of regulations for 2017 are exciting ompared to 2016, when it was more an evolution of the car. Now, we have to change everything on the car, review all the procedures as well as trying to optimize the car performance on something you don’t know. That is very exciting as an engineer.”
Newey: “It’s probably the biggest set of regulation changes we’ve had since 2009, which is very interesting. It’s less of a change than 2009 - certainly from an aerodynamic perspective - as much of the flow structures are similar, but very different in the detail.”
Monaghan: “These rules may provide new opportunities and the framework for us to pursue some chassis differentiation if it’s to our benefit.”
Marshall: “There are many new challenges, it’s been a long time since there has been anything quite as different coming out of F1, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Fallows: “From our point of view as an aerodynamics department, this new set of regulations is extremely exciting, because we get a lot more freedom in terms of the areas of the car that can deliver quite a bit of performance. We always like to have more ability to play around with these areas.”
How will the regulations change the look of the 2017 cars?
Newey: “There’s a feeling, which I do agree with, that since we went to the narrow track cars back in 1998, the cars have always looked a bit out of proportion. Then we got these quite narrow and long cars with reasonably wide tyres, with the wheelbase getting longer and longer, so the proportions look strange. So by getting back to a wider track and wider tyres, proportionally they should look better.”
Fallows: “The whole car does look more aggressive and I think everybody in the aero department is quite excited by the look of the new cars.”
Will the new aero packages make overtaking more difficult?
Waché: “The 2017 car will clearly be a more aggressive car term of looks. They’re wider and look more muscular with the bigger tyres. One of the aspects by having a wider car is that you could argue it would be more difficult to overtake. However, due to the aerodynamics and the drag effect, you’ll spend more time on the straights and thus have more opportunities than the previous year to overtake in this area.”
Monaghan: “If the tyres are more durable than previous generations, I think it will change the racing not for the worse but for the better. We’ll potentially have more overtaking.”
Fallows: “The more downforce the cars produce, the more they can be affected by other cars in terms of their drag, so it could be that cars are able to run closer behind another car to use the slipstream down the straight. Overtaking in that sense could actually be easier.”
What challenges did you face over the winter?
Newey: “When you have a big regulation change like this, there are always more ideas than there is time available. Like all teams we can’t pursue every avenue you can think of, so we have to try to prioritize. Time will tell whether we have prioritized the right things or not.”
Marshall: “We started off with a fresh sheet of paper to try and work out what we need to do to come up with the fastest car. Clearly there are going to be different solutions up and down the grid and we need to make sure that ours is the best.”
Can you close the gap to your nearest rivals?
Waché: “Last year we proved that on the chassis side, we’re able to create something good. With the change in regulations we have hope that we will challenge the leaders from last year more often.”
Marshall: “Hopefully we will be able to close the gap to the lead. We did that to a certain extent last year. For certain we were more competitive last year than we were the year before. During the year we closed that gap up, so we hope that we can close it up further.”
Monaghan: “We want to be World Champions. It’s our aim, it’s what we want to do. Whether we can do it is the great question and we will have that answer around November 2017.”
Where will the performance gains come from this year?
Marshall: “The cars are expected to be between three and five seconds per lap faster. Most of that gain will come from cornering speeds, where the increased downforce on the car will mean that the car is able to go around the corners quicker. Along with that downforce, comes increased drag, so the speed down the straight will be a bit diminished. That plays into the hands of the people who happened to have the most powerful power unit. They will benefit, because they will be able to overcome some drag. But essentially the lap time will come from cornering speed.”
Newey: “Copse at Silverstone, turn 9, the kink in the back straight at Barcelona are no longer corners. They are in fact bends in the straight. We’ve already seen that with Eau Rouge at Spa which used to be a big deep breath corner but is now simply a bend on the straight. This extra downforce and grip takes that development further.”
Is there anything from 2016 that can be carried over to 2017?
Monaghan: “If you can understand why you have drawn benefit from the changes you have made from 2015 to 2016, it sets a philosophy you can follow into 2017.”
Waché: “What we learned in the previous season in terms of how to make a quick car or how to operate a car didn’t change with the new regulations. The new rules of 2017 change the type of tyre or the size of the aerodynamics you have. However, the way you work still stays the same.”
What further gains do you expect from the power unit this year?
Newey: “Renault have again done good work over the winter, so we anticipate through this year that they will again close the gap compared to our main rivals. So we will see where we are.”
Waché: “Our power unit supplier proved last year that they have made massive progress. They promised us the same type of progress for 2017, so it will give us the opportunity to be close to the leaders. We hope that the chassis differentiation could give us an opportunity to challenge them for the win.“
What challenges did the new tyres present in designing the new car?
Marshall: “The presence of significantly wider tyres has a first order effect on the drag on the car. Much effort has been put into trying to minimize the effect these very wide tyres have on drag.”
Waché: “On top of that, the tyre will generate a lot more grip and it will affect the suspension stiffness in terms of deformation and what you can achieve with the car and chassis.”
Fallows: “In terms of the effect on the aerodynamics of the car, because the tyres are a lot bigger they have a much more significant impact on the rest of the car and that’s something we’ve had to learn to deal with over the last few months.”
What aspects of the RB13 design are you really pleased with?
Newey: “I hope that the car is cohesive. I don’t think there is any one particular piece to point at and say: ‘That bit is amazing.’ Or ‘I did that bit, mum.’ It’s how it all hangs together.”
Monaghan: “It’s a very neat package. It’s a nice looking car. The new bodywork rules have improved the esthetics of the sport. If you ever get the chance to look under the skin it’s beautifully designed and beautifully made, so any bit of it between the front and rear wing is fantastic.”
Are you superstitious about this year’s car being called RB13?
Waché: “Superstition is not a part of Formula 1, it’s about engineering and racing. I don’t think it has anything to do with luck. If you have the quickest car and a very quick driver you will win the race.”
Monaghan: “RB13 doesn’t worry me. The aim is to have both World Championships back in our possession at the end of the year, and if the car happens to be RB13, great. Bring it on.”
Newey: “The number 13 for me is not luck, it’s superstition and I’m not superstitious. The first car I was responsible for at McLaren was the MP4-13 and that managed to win both championships.”
How about that driver line-up!?
Waché: “Our driver pairing is one of the best on the grid. They are young, very talented and they are pushing each other.”
Fallows: “If you look around the other teams, it would be difficult to say that there is a driver pairing that is as strong as ours in terms of experience, but also in feedback, in raw driver skill. It’s extraordinary working with the pair that we have now and I’m really looking forward to working with them this year.”
Monaghan: “They work well together, they both push one another, they’re both easy to work with, both fun loving, constructive, good team mates. The best in the pit lane.”
How do you feel going into the first test in Barcelona?
Waché: “The first test of the season in Barcelona is one of the most exciting aspects of the season. You see the other cars and you see your car. You try to assess the performance and try to understand what is going well or wrong with your car. You try to anticipate that and sort out the problems.”
Newey: “Here we are, in the middle of February and after a long winter of hard work this is actually when we get going again, to be out on the circuit again and see where we are.”
Monaghan: “It’s generating a lot of interest as we get near the combination of the first efforts. We get it built, see what it’s like and see what we can do with it to make it even better. We’re looking forward to it.”
What excites you the most about the 2017 season?
Newey: “It would be nice if there’s a bit of a change in order. It is kind of selfishly, but if we could be at the front of that change in order, that would be fabulous. But for Formula 1 it will be nice to see some good inter team racing.”
Waché: “We want to challenge the leaders and fight for the win. We want to see if we are delivering and how much we can improve to achieve that. A win would be the main excitement for me.”
Marshall: “The most exciting thing about the 2017 season is that the aerodynamic regulations have opened up avenues for aerodynamic development again, where it plateaued in previous years. Hopefully that has given us a bit of a chance to close the gap to the leaders.”
Fallows: “Looking forward to 2017, we have definitely moved into an era where aerodynamics are probably as important as they ever have been. I certainly believe that we have the best aerodynamics department on the grid. I believe we are able to challenge anybody out that. I’m really looking forward to the challenge of these new regulations and the whole season ahead.”
Monaghan: “A regulation change is always going to have some excitement about it. It’s a chance for the order to reshuffle. Who will be first? Who will not be first? Who is around us? Where are we? It’s a bit self centered, but I’d like to be holding two World Championships at the end of the year. It created an opportunity by which we can realize that. And now it’s all hands to the pump to try and do that.”
