Crimson Bull lastly rolled its rotating rear wing right into a race weekend on the Miami Autodrome. Crimson Bull says the wing has not been copied from or impressed by , and that this was a the Milton Keynes group had been engaged on for for much longer.
Whether or not you imagine that or not, the extra fascinating query is the one no one on the group has answered on the : what does the RB22’s wing truly do in another way from the Scuderia’s?
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An fascinating learn comes from an aerodynamicist posting beneath the deal with Dr. Obbs on X, breaking down the geometry of the 2 wings by aspect.
Why Crimson Bull’s is Totally different
The rear wing is able to a full 180-degree rotation to significantly cut back drag on lengthy straights. The distinction is in how every group has chosen to get there, and what they’ve given as much as do it.
Ferrari’s resolution is the extra conservative one. The higher flap pivots from a hinge mounted within the endplates, which lets the group protect the connection between the flap and the mainplane that aerodynamicists truly care about: the overlap on the slot hole. Crimson Bull, against this, has stored a single central actuator and constructed the whole mechanism so the flap rotates rearwards beneath the primary aspect.
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From a facet view, the flap seems to carry virtually totally away from the endplates, remaining linked solely by lateral helps, making a extra aggressive interpretation of the idea than Ferrari’s design.
Writing concerning the sacrifice Crimson Bull has accepted as a way to bundle the rotation round a central actuator, the X consumer explains:
“I imagine that one factor RBR is having to do with this design of their flip flop wing, Ferrari could not should do, is sacrifice the overlap between the primary and second components of the rear wing. As a result of the RBR wing rotates backwards beneath the primary aspect, the forefront of second aspect should be stepped again from the trailing fringe of the primary aspect (backside picture).
“The older design has an overlap on the slot hole that creates a bit extra environment friendly design that isn’t essential with a standard DRS actuator fashion design.
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“As a result of the Ferrari wing rotates the opposite course, the overlap will be maintained between first and second components.
“So what does this imply? RBR could also be sacrificing some rear wing nook load (effectivity) for higher straight line efficiency with the a lot bigger opening hole when in straight line mode. The diminished overlap (RBR design) could trigger some lack of load efficiency at larger rear wing load angles, however the offset of higher straight line efficiency could outweigh that.
“It seems that this is without doubt one of the aero efficiency tradeoffs in design philosophy that there’s between the Ferrari and RBR flip flop wing designs.”
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The RB22 has been a tough since lights out in , and a wing that provides away a slice of cornering load to claw again prime is a defensible name when you find yourself beginning Sundays out of the highest six.
The Weight Query No person Talked about
There’s a second knock-on impact of the central-actuator route, and it’s the type of factor solely an engineer would suppose to ask. In a follow-up alternate on the identical thread, the so-called Dr. Obbs was requested whether or not the Crimson Bull wing is likely to be lighter than Ferrari’s. His reply:
“I might assume so. One actuator mechanism vs. two ultimately plate.”
The RB22 continues to be chubby, though insiders counsel considerably much less so than throughout the first three race weekends of 2026; initially of the season, the was round 12kg chubby, and this improve ought to roughly halve that fats on it.
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A wing that achieves the rotating-flap idea with one actuator as an alternative of two endplate-mounted items is contributing to that weight discount. It additionally concentrates mass nearer to the automobile’s centreline, which is mostly what you need on a circuit with the type of low-speed course adjustments Miami serves up between Turns 11 and 16.
Early estimates counsel the improve may enhance the automobile’s prime pace by 5 to 10km per hour.
Whether or not that acquire holds up throughout the remainder of the calendar, on tracks the place nook load issues greater than straight-line pace, is the half Crimson Bull can not reply in . The Ferrari wing was all the time constructed to surrender much less within the corners. The Crimson Bull wing is constructed to surrender much less on the straight. Miami, with its lengthy DRS zone down the again straight and its tight infield, is genuinely a coin-flip circuit for which thought wins.
