The extensive Barcelona update is put to the test: In the first free practice session in Austria, the Racing Bulls drivers drove with different specifications
After a disappointing weekend in Barcelona despite extensive updates, the Racing Bulls Formula 1 team drove with different specifications in the first free practice session in Austria. Daniel Ricciardo (P16; +1.277) was probably running with a number of the new parts, while team-mate Yuki Tsunoda’s car (P9; +0.894) was fitted with both old and new parts
“It’s actually a mixture,” says Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer. “We were able to read out relatively clear data, including from the last race in Barcelona. We knew a certain basis for both cars and then added different body parts, old and new, to get the maximum amount of data.”
The team added a revised sidepod and a new engine cover in Barcelona, as well as a new rear wing and underbody to achieve more power in the triple-header. However, the upgrades did not bring the hoped-for step in Barcelona: Daniel Ricciardo finished 15th and Yuki Tsunoda 19th
Bayer: “Have a few initial clues “
“First and foremost, we had to analyze the data after the gut punch in Barcelona,” Bayer told Sky after the first free practice session in Spielberg. “Simply to understand why this upgrade didn’t work the way we expected it to. We fitted both cars with different parts and have now tried to read out maximum data. The analysis is now underway and we have some initial clues.”
When looking at the performance on a fast lap, Tsunoda cut a better figure with the older parts, but the picture changed in the long runs at the end of the session. With a tire-adjusted gap of 1.45 seconds per lap, Racing Bulls was a long way off the pace of the top teams anyway, with Tsunoda half a second slower than Ricciardo on average.
According to Bayer, the team struggled with top speed in Austria: “There was a new issue for us again: high speed. We were never the fastest, but today we really were among the slowest cars. We have to take a close look to see if there is anything we can do with the new wing. But we are on the right track. “
Ricciardo: Not saying that the update is a flop
On the plan for Austria, Ricciardo explained before the weekend that the team still needs to research the new parts further: “There are certainly still some questions. But are we convinced that the upgrade was a flop? No, we are not,” said the Australian on Thursday.
“Yuki and I will start with different configurations. It’s a combination of everything because we’re still trying to figure it out. We’ll start differently on [Friday] and hopefully learn something from practice and then put it together for the sprint quali.”
“But yeah, we’re not throwing anything in the garbage can yet; there are no firm conclusions yet, I would say. It’s obviously a bit more difficult on a sprint weekend, but we have to keep trying to work on it. “
Tsunoda: Pace slump not just due to update
Tsunoda reveals that the data from the Spanish Grand Prix showed the team that the updates could not ultimately be blamed for the overall lack of performance a week ago. However, “a bit of a mystery” remains due to the discrepancy between the wind tunnel data and the actual performance.
“I hope to have a clear explanation this week, but obviously the team is working very hard on this problem,” said the Japanese driver. “We’re still seeing what we wanted to see in the data after the race, but somehow it’s not working well.”
“We’ve seen a few things that could be responsible for it, but there’s still no clear answer, so it’s a bit of a mystery for us and obviously a few things we could have done better with the set-up or something. But that still doesn’t explain why we lost so much compared to the previous races. “
