Formula 1
Doubts remain about Red Bull 'cooling' inlet
GMM
Edited: Feb 14, 2012, 5:44 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Feb.14 (GMM) When Adrian Newey said a mysterious 'letterbox slot'-shaped air inlet in the stepped nose of his new RB8 car is for driver cooling, a wave of speculation eased.
Podium: Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing, Technical Operations Director
Photo by: xpb.cc
But not everyone inside the F1 paddock was entirely happy with that answer.
When the 2012 Red Bull was launched recently, it was apparent the 'step' nose design differed from its rivals in the form of a sizeable inlet where the monocoque meets the new mandatory lower nose height.
Some surmised it must be for KERS cooling, or perhaps even an F-duct style channel through to the diffuser.
Amid suggestions Mercedes has come up with an F-duct style channel in its 2012 front wing, Red Bull designer Newey explained that the nose slot is in fact simply to cool the drivers.
"Traditionally the driver cooling slot is at the front of the nose," explained Newey, "but really for styling as much as anything we moved it to where you now see it to break up the aesthetics of the ramp."
There are, however, doubts about that explanation, particularly with close-up images showing that the main inlet is actually divided into two channels at the middle.
Indeed, the Telegraph last week quoted Newey as having said the slot is "primarily" for cooling, which suggests that it might have another use.
According to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, "the competition is suspicious", having already been outsmarted by Newey in past years in the area of flexing wings and blown diffusers.
When asked about Newey's driver-cooling explanation for the big letterbox slot-style inlet, an unnamed rival engineer smiled: "Then the drivers are going to get their feet wet when it rains."
Asked last week about the 'cooling inlet' amid Jerez's cold temperatures, Mark Webber reportedly grinned to Autosprint: "The toes are a bit too cold now actually."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Vergne vows to keep 'tension' low with Ricciardo
Next article Kimi Raikkonen - The return of the Iceman
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
GMM
The season is still very long - Rosberg
Formula 1
Formula 1
The season is still very long - Rosberg
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Formula 1
Formula 1
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
Formula 1
Formula 1
Chinese GP
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
More from
Mark Webber
Oscar Piastri splits from Mark Webber management
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
Oscar Piastri splits from Mark Webber management
Oscar Piastri shares how relationship with Mark Webber has evolved since F1 debut
Formula 1
Formula 1
Miami GP
Oscar Piastri shares how relationship with Mark Webber has evolved since F1 debut
Mark Webber’s Oscar Piastri role change was inevitable, says David Coulthard
Formula 1
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Mark Webber’s Oscar Piastri role change was inevitable, says David Coulthard
More from
Red Bull Racing
Tsolov named Red Bull, Racing Bulls reserve driver after missing out on 2027 F1 race seat
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 h
Tsolov named Red Bull, Racing Bulls reserve driver after missing out on 2027 F1 race seat
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
8 h
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Latest news
IndyCar 2026 season review: ECR
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 3 min
IndyCar 2026 season review: ECR
Toto Wolff reflects on Mercedes’ non-title years: ‘We weren’t complete losers’
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
20 min
Toto Wolff reflects on Mercedes’ non-title years: ‘We weren’t complete losers’
Renger van der Zande moves to IMSA’s LMP2 class full-time with Tower Motorsports
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 1 h
Renger van der Zande moves to IMSA’s LMP2 class full-time with Tower Motorsports
Nick Sanchez will compete for 2027 NASCAR Truck title with McAnally-Hilgemann
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Homestead
1 h
Nick Sanchez will compete for 2027 NASCAR Truck title with McAnally-Hilgemann
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe