Max Verstappen suffered two high-speed crashes over consecutive race weekends, and each seem to have been attributable to the identical rear wing malfunction on the Crimson Bull automobile.
The British Grand Prix proved to be a significant wake-up name for Crimson Bull Racing. A mechanical problem prevented the rear wing from closing appropriately, forcing Verstappen to retire after struggling a high-speed crash. It was a repeat of the issue that had already emerged throughout qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.
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The problem seems to stem from the design of Crimson Bull’s rotating rear wing, generally known as the “Macarena wing.” In contrast to Ferrari’s answer, Crimson Bull’s design depends on a unique deployment philosophy that makes the closing section significantly important. As seen at each Silverstone and Austria, the mechanism can fail to return absolutely to its commonplace place below braking.
How Crimson Bull’s ‘Macarena wing’ works
On the Miami Grand Prix, Crimson Bull launched an up to date rear wing. Whereas the flap and mainplane design remained unchanged, the group debuted a brand new actuator and a very revised deployment mechanism.
The brand new system makes use of an actuator that concurrently pushes the vanguard of the second flap rearwards whereas pulling the trailing fringe of the ultimate flap forwards. This causes the wing to rotate roughly 160 levels counter-clockwise, as illustrated within the drawing under.
RB22’s rear
RB22’s rear “Macarena” wing answer launched in Miami – Picture: Francesco Bianchi
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Throughout the rotation, each flaps are additionally lifted barely, permitting Crimson Bull to use the utmost deployment permitted by the FIA rules and scale back drag as a lot as potential when DRS is activated. The system is managed by two hydraulically operated linkages — one higher and one decrease — and, at first look, seems mechanically easy.
Ferrari’s answer is significantly extra advanced
Ferrari’s rotating rear wing follows a really totally different design philosophy. In contrast to Crimson Bull, Ferrari has built-in the actuator contained in the right-hand endplate slightly than positioning it centrally. This answer displays the Maranello group’s relentless pursuit of decrease drag and improved aerodynamic effectivity, though it inevitably leads to a way more advanced mechanism.
The motion of Ferrari’s wing can be basically totally different. As a substitute of rotating backwards like Crimson Bull’s design, Ferrari’s wing rotates forwards by roughly 270 levels clockwise — a considerably bigger rotation regardless of having to adjust to the FIA’s requirement that the wing should shut inside 0.4 seconds.
Ferrari’s SF-26
Ferrari’s SF-26 “Macarena” rear wing closing section – Picture: Francesco Bianchi
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This complexity initially created a number of growth challenges. Early variations of Ferrari’s rotating wing struggled to satisfy the required closing time, producing rear instability below braking — a symptom remarkably just like what Crimson Bull has skilled in latest races.
Solely after introducing an up to date model in Miami was Ferrari capable of absolutely resolve the difficulty and efficiently use the system throughout each circuit.
Why the RB22’s rear wing struggles to shut
If Crimson Bull’s actuation system is mechanically less complicated than Ferrari’s, the place does the issue originate?
The reply might lie within the aerodynamic masses appearing on the wing throughout the closing section. As the driving force brakes for a nook, the higher linkage pushes the trailing edge rearwards whereas the decrease linkage pulls the vanguard forwards, rotating the wing again into its commonplace configuration.
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Nonetheless, throughout this reverse rotation, there seems to be some extent the place aerodynamic forces oppose the actuator’s motion. If the aerodynamic load exceeds the pressure generated by the actuator, the wing might fail to finish its closing sequence, leaving the rear wing partially open because the automobile enters the nook.
Picture: Race Footage
Picture: Race Footage
If the malfunction happens earlier than a slow-speed nook, the driving force might merely expertise rear instability or oversteer on nook entry.
At high-speed corners, nevertheless, the implications are way more extreme. These corners require most aerodynamic load from each the entrance and rear wings. If the rear wing stays partially open, the automobile immediately loses a big quantity of rear downforce, dramatically decreasing tyre grip and making the automobile unstable at excessive velocity.
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Underneath these circumstances, the driving force has nearly no probability of constructing the nook, leading to a lack of management. That seems to be precisely what occurred to Verstappen throughout qualifying on the Austrian Grand Prix and once more throughout the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, with each incidents occurring in high-speed sections of the circuit.
Following the British Grand Prix, Crimson Bull group principal Laurent Mekies confirmed that the group is investigating each potential answer. “The reply is that we’ll do no matter is critical to be on the secure aspect. We may even return to the earlier idea if obligatory. We have raced with this idea since Miami, so it is nonetheless too early to determine whether or not the difficulty lies with the idea itself or with one thing else. However we’ll depart no stone unturned, and each possibility stays open.”
Crimson Bull’s speedy precedence will likely be eliminating the difficulty earlier than the upcoming races. Attainable options embrace revising the actuator design, modifying the wing’s closing sequence, or adjusting the timing of the closing section on the finish of the straights.
Regardless of the closing answer, stopping one other rear wing malfunction will likely be important if the group desires to keep away from one other high-speed incident and restore confidence in its modern rotating rear wing idea.
