Red Bull were 'on top' of porpoising problem before the 2022 F1 season even began, claims sport CTO

Red Bull was one of the few teams in the 2022 F1 season that didn't encounter porpoising quite as much as other cars. The aerodynamic phenomenon was a hot topic last year since it greatly hampered F1 cars and even put drivers' health in danger.

F1's chief technical officer, Pat Symonds, recently revealed that he hasn't seen any structural issues with the Red Bull cars since the 2022 pre-testing. Hence, they were able to tackle the porpoising problem right from the start.

Speaking at the Autosport International Show, he explained how the aerodynamic issue is also connected to other components of the car and affects the overall performance of the machine. He said:

“I think one of the things that’s interesting is that Willem (Toet, Alfa Romeo aerodynamic consultant) described porpoising as an aerodynamics phenomena. But there’s coupling, everything is coupled into the car, into the suspension, etc. It’s the structural dynamics, the suspension dynamics, and the aerodynamic effects.”

Furthermore, Symonds saw the Red Bull cars' floor during pre-testing in Barcelona and instantly realized that the Austrian team had tackled the issue. He added:

“And in Barcelona, in testing at the beginning of ’22, I went and had a look at the cars, wandering around the garage. I had the advantage the rest of the technical directors in the pit lane have worked with me. But when I got to the Red Bull floor, and I saw it on a structural level, they are on top of this.”

Since Red Bull was already on top of the porpoising issue even before the 2022 F1 season, they were able to take a huge lead and win both world titles. Although Ferrari was extremely quick despite suffering from porpoising, they were unable to keep up simply due to several strategic mishaps. The Italian team suffered even more after Red Bull developed new parts for their cars and the FIA issued a minor change to reduce porpoising, which affected their pace.

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Red Bull 2023 development massively affected by F1 cost cap, claims Christian Horner

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner recently revealed how the team is struggling to develop a strong car for the 2023 F1 season. The team was handed a hefty penalty for breaching the cost cap in 2021. They had to pay $7 million, and their wind tunnel test time was reduced as well.

Horner told Racer that, due to time constraints, the development team must be much more stringent in utilizing the wind tunnel test. This might force the team to compromise on several aspects of the car and only test the essential parts. He said:

“We’re probably 25% almost of the way through that penalty, and of course it has an effect. It’s limiting significantly, the amount of runs that we can do in our wind tunnel over each quarter. And I think that the team are they’re having to adapt to that. And it just means you have to be a bit more focused, and more disciplined in what we put through the testing process within the tunnel or within our simulation tools.”

The only upside for the team is that they already have a perfect blueprint from their 2022 season, which will help them develop the new car as well.