As the fight at the front of Formula 1 has got more intense, the key to success has been in bringing the best upgrades without hitting a snag.
The missteps taken so far this year by Ferrari, Red Bull, Aston Martin and Mercedes are in contrast to a McLaren team that has so far nailed all the developments it has brought to the MCL38.
As rivals ponder just why McLaren has managed to get things so right, and others have got them wrong, an interesting theory has gathered some momentum.
It is that the story of the 2024 season is a simple one. It is about who has got the best wind tunnel.
The link between McLaren doing so well with its car and having the newest of the current generation of wind tunnels has not been discredited by paddock insiders as a pure coincidence.
Indeed, as Red Bull tries to get to the bottom of why the development of its RB20 has gone astray this year, it is understood to be increasingly convinced that its problem originates from its own Bedford wind tunnel – its modernised facility that was originally built during the Cold War.
It was telling when Red Bull boss Christian Horner let slip after the Italian Grand Prix about the issues the team is facing with its car: “It’s disconnected front and rear. And we can see that. Our wind tunnel doesn’t say that, but the track says that.”
Photo by: Mercedes AMG
Any problem with the wind tunnel can be a real challenge for teams because, with development being driven by the data coming out of the wind tunnel, any wrong information makes it almost impossible to know for sure if new parts are an improvement or not.
“It’s not unusual that when something’s not working on the car, you end up with different readings from your simulation tools, and they don’t converge,” said Horner.
“Then you get three sets of data: you get CFD, you get wind tunnel and you get track. Obviously, the one that really counts is the track data, but to develop it, it’s like telling the time with three different watches.
“You’ve got to focus on the tool that’s going to give you the most valuable input, and of course, the track data is the most reliable.”
The current situation means Red Bull cannot count down the days quick enough until its new state-of-the-art wind tunnel is up and running at its Milton Keynes base.
Yaw and rolling floor materials
The situation among the top teams is not just about having a wind tunnel that does not give you wrong data.
Instead, it is about how much better…
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