RB Spotted The Problems With Their Barcelona Formula One Upgrade

RB's Barcelona floor cost mid-corner performance was demonstrated by several experiments conducted at the Austrian and Silverstone Formula One races.

According to Jody Egginton, the technical director of RB, the company reverted to its Barcelona floor after determining that it was the primary reason why the modifications it had planned for the Spanish Grand Prix did not meet expectations.

An assortment of modifications that were intended to improve the performance of the VCARB 01 in order to consolidate sixth place in the constructors' championship ended up having a negative impact on the balance of RB's 2024 vehicle, which resulted in a disappointing weekend in Barcelona.

As RB discovered that the floor lost performance during the mid-corner phase, Egginton outlined the procedure that the team went through to establish the primary mitigating variables of the improvement. Initially, it was believed that a fluttering rear wing would be the most effective mitigating aspect regarding the upgrade.

Despite the fact that it was challenging to analyze the package during the European triple-header, particularly because the Austrian Grand Prix was a sprint race, the engineer who had previously worked for Force India and Lotus stated that he was pleased with the data that the team had presented.

We have received an update that focuses on certain advantages. According to Egginton, who gave an exclusive interview to Motorsport.com, "We are still trying to get all of the headline load improvements, but we were focusing a little bit still to get a bit more brake entry stability, a bit more rotation in the car, and all the normal things."

"As a package, it was obvious that we had not been able to get all from it, and despite the fact that the load that we had anticipated was present, we had sort of decoupled the vehicle in terms of through-corner and through-speed balance more than we had desired.

Despite the fact that there was no question that the load was included in the package, we were unable to obtain that performance since we were trading the load against the balance.

"So we took the decision instantly to roll one vehicle back and conduct a back-to-back in Austria - it was a two-stage experiment since the parc ferme window this year in sprint races opened up twice. We had two tries at it, bottomed it out. And then for Silverstone, we had a basic aero setup and effectively we'd cranked down the floor."

Reflecting on the floor design, Egginton remarked that it nonetheless had characteristics that the team was enthusiastic on investigating further - even if the first version ultimately did not work.

Although the team was sad that it didn't work out, he said that reverting to previous specs was a normal part of the upgrading process for every team in F1. You may also read this: Stellantis Motorsport Chief Gives Verdict On WRC Future Vision

"The floor is a one-piece item with pieces of it we liked, bits of it we didn't. You don't get the decision to split it up," he remarked.

"You bring the update to the first event, you've got stuff you want to learn, but we dived straight into it, did our laundry, discovered the solution and moved on. So I'm pretty delighted with the procedure.

"Clearly not happy that we couldn't access all the performance we had, which is far better than not truly realising the performance. But certainly, we've converged to a configuration currently.

"A lot of learning from that level that we're not operating, which we'll use to the next floor because some components of it we enjoy.

"Most teams have rolled back at one point or another. To imagine that you can reach everything is foolish - if you're trying to grow this aggressively, it's simply how it is.

"I'd be concerned if every single bit got retained! I'd query that as 'are we sure, do we want to look at that again?' Because experimentally the possibility of such is minimal."