Newey says Red Bull nose slot is for cooling and not aero. So, it's for aero then.
Posted Feb 7, 2012, 1:47 PM UTC
7541
I believe he said it was 'primarily' for cooling the driver.
Gordon Murray said that the fan on the back of the BT46b was 'primarily' for cooling the car.
Technically this was true because if it had been removed the car would have overheated and broken down. It just happened to have the slight additional benefit of sucking the whole car to the ground.
24
tedkravitz:
[2012/02/07][13:27:23]
[[Translate]](http://translate.google.com/#auto|auto|Just spoke to A Newey, post box slot is primarily for cooling: driver and other parts. He denies it gives RB8 any aero benefit. 'google translate this tweet'): Just spoke to A Newey, post box slot is primarily for cooling: driver and other parts. He denies it gives RB8 any aero benefit.
[This comment was posted by a bot][FAQ][[Did I get it wrong?]](http://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=tweet_poster&subject=Error%20Report&message=[Oops!](http://reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/penac\)%0d%0dPlease leave the subject and this link unaltered, but feel free to add a description here. 'report an error')
12
HAHAHA It's just like when the CIA confirms something by denying it.
9
Here's a question:
If this were an F-Duct style device, but the air passed through an area near the throttle, thus activating it only when the driver had the throttle completely down, would that be legal? The driver wouldn't be making any additional movements, but I'm guessing the throttle pedal would then be considered a movable aero device...
5
I doubt the FIA would be willing to buy that excuse. It's preposterously flimsy.
5
That's a bad plan, no matter what the FIA thinks. The drivers are good enough that they give exactly enough throttle for the amount of grip they have. Suddenly decreasing the grip because they gave too much throttle will lead to lots of dangerous spins.
2
If you activate a switch of any form it becomes a driver-operated aero device which is banned.
2
Given their problems with kers last year I'd put my money on it cooling that.
4
Isn't all of the KERS equipment in the back of the car? It'd surely be much easier to use cooling air from the sidepods for KERS, no?
2
The KERS gubbins (battery/control unit) is usually either tucked in to the front/bottom of the sidepods with the motor on the front of the engine, or the whole thing is slapped on to the front of the engine in one complete unit.
2
So if it's not for cooling where is the cooling slot, cause it sure as shit isn't where it normally is.
2
youtube video with Horner sort of dodging the question whether the slot does anything else than cooling the driver
2
Sometimes a cooling slot is just a cooling slot. It is not a big enough opening to have any large aero effect.
2
The f-duct wasnt very big(?)
1
Yes, but it was an obvious extra duct, that was not there the year before.
This car has no nosecone hole, so it needs an inlet somewhere for the driver and electronics cooling.
If there was still a front cooling hole, I would be more suspicious. Same as the Sauber, no nose hole, yet there is a neutral vent there as well.
I am not saying it doesn't have a special purpose, but not everything in F1 is cloak and dagger. There are many things that are simply what they look like.
If this feature acts as a switch like the fduct control hole, its illegal. If it is for passively blowing a surface, its not enough air to have an effect.
The hole for driver cooling (and sometimes ECU or other electronics) and front suspension dampers needs to be upstream from the driver. If it is not there, and not in the nose, then the cockpit has no flow and becomes another aero problem.
My understanding (from being a mod at F1technical) is not always right, but from the discussions I have seen, its aero benefit might be more due to its shape, than its ability to channel air elsewhere.
3
If it is not there, and not in the nose, then the cockpit has no flow and becomes another aero problem. Can you explain this? What do you mean by the cockpi becoming an aero problem?
1
The cockpit needs air to flow out of it, otherwise the massive amounts of air coming over the cockpit would partially enter, and cause buffeting, instability, and would affect the flow across the car to the rear, where the air is most important to be properly flowed and energized.
I think the term is a stagnation zone.
2
Slightly off topic, is Ted with the BBC still next year?
1
Nope, he is with Sky now.
7
This was my exact theory after first seeing the gap. Last year both drivers where complaining about how hot the hotseat was.
1
All cars need a cooling hole ahead of the driver. This is unequivocal.
If the hole is no longer in the nose because the nose is too narrow, and this hole is not for cooling the driver, then where is the driver cooling hole?
1
If that's true then my arsehole is just a slot for cooling my balls.
if I angle myself correctly, and my balls are sweaty, it actually works quite well sometimes
Especially when you can get some nice cold exhaust blowing in there.
The FIA will put a stop to that! You can only angle those exhaust gasses 10-30 degrees.
There goes my blown difuser.
You'll have to raise the front of your chassis to get more airflow underneath.