Apr.16 (GMM) Mismatching data has been identified as the cause of Red Bull’s problems early in 2017.
Despite Adrian Newey’s reputation with changing regulations, the energy drink owned team is at least a second per lap off Mercedes and Ferrari’s pace.
However, the gap looks smaller in Bahrain.
“We have understood our chassis problems,” team official Dr Helmut Marko is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport. “But we need to wait until Barcelona for the solution.”
And team boss Christian Horner says the cause of the issues has also been found.
“For the first time in a long time, the correlation between CFD, the wind tunnel and the race track does not match. We get three different sets of data,” he said.
The resulting car surprised much of the paddock for its lack of aerodynamic appendages and visual complexity.
“We are too fast on the straights,” Marko admits, referring to low drag but also low downforce.
The Austrian has said the Spanish GP-spec Red Bull will be a “new car”.
Horner agrees: “The step will be significant.”