Red Bull gives you wings, slicks...heck, a whole new car at Jerez
Click to view a high-resolution gallery of the new Red Bull RB5
It's been a month since the initial onslaught of new F1 car debuts, and Red Bull Racing is running in the back of the pack with the unveiling of its new contender. Called the RB5, the latest Red Bull was revealed at the Jerez circuit in Spain, where Sebastian Vettel, newly promoted from the Toro Rosso B-squad, drove a few test laps before a gearbox problem sidelined him for the rest of the day. He'll be joining Mark Weber, who limped without crutches to the debut, fresh out of surgery to remove a titanium rod from his leg following his bike injury in Tasmania.
Like its engine supplier Renault, Red Bull has signed a new partnership with French oil company Total, which will supply fuel and lubricants to both teams this season. You can check out images of the new RB5, designed under the same new regs as the rest of the field – meaning a smaller rear wing, a bigger front one, regenerative braking system and slick tires at each corner – in the gallery below. But don't expect to see any rear shots, as Red Bull was careful to keep the rear diffuser, which has been a source of controversy for the Toyota and Williams teams – hidden from sight pending the FIA's ruling on the design. With Honda's fate still undecided, only Toro Rosso and Force India have yet to reveal their cars as we approach the season opener in Melbourne late next month.
_opt_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg "2011 Audi A8: Live from Miami")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Chris 8:39PM (2/09/2009)
Man these new F1 cars are hideous.
Reply
Tom Winch 8:55PM (2/09/2009)
While I wouldn't go so far as to call them hideous, the extra wide front wings and narrow rear wings do look ungainly. The new aero rules are forcing the teams to come up with new ways of achieving aerodynamic grip, like using the shape of the bodywork to channel airflow to increase grip. Some are looking better than others. The new Ferrari and McLaren designs (aside from the wings) are beautiful cars. This Red Bull car is not. What they've done with the nose of the car, by raising it and creating two ridges over the suspension mounts to channel airflow, looks pretty bad. Hopefully. for their sake, it works better than it looks. Otherwise, I was never a fan of all the various winglets, rabbit ears, etc., of the last few years and I think overall (again, ignoring the new wings) the new cars look good. Maybe after a few races, when teams have been replacing the front wings after the first turn, the rules will be tweaked to come up with a better solution. Or not.
Tom Winch 9:04PM (2/09/2009)
I wanted to add, one of the best looking open wheel race cars ever was the 2007 Panoz DP01 car that was only used the last year of Champ Car.
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/03/motorsports-2007-panoz-dp01-champ-car-unveiled/
Too bad the Panoz wasn't adopted after the unification rather than the tired Dallara/Hondas.
AZZO45b 11:08PM (2/09/2009)
Sorry Tom, but the Panoz doesn't even rank in most Top 10s of "OW car Best Ever"... OW includes all eras of F1, CART/ CCWS, F2/ F3000/ GP2, A1GP, F3 etc
If you were targeting American OW cars... I'd take the Reynard, Lola, Swift, & AAR Eagle that ran before the DP01... JMO.
As for the RedBull RB5... its the best of the ugly 2009 crop of cars.... but that's like calling the woman at last call SUPER MODELS!!!! :) :) :)
Amend the rules to have ALL of the '09 cars run '08 spec rear wings & they become much more handsome (IMO). Having all the hanging aero crap off the cars is an improvement... if only the front & rear wings were some what more symmetrical in width. The RB5's one sponsor & clean livery also helps it.
Alvin 3:00AM (2/10/2009)
While they may be hideous, it's still always function over form. I definitely can't wait until the season starts. Less downforce and allowing drivers to adjust the front wing and use KERS as a little "boost" will provide for some good racing battles.
AZZO45b 11:00AM (2/10/2009)
Alvin: The FIA is dictating the FUNCTION... they mandated these extra wide front wings & the extremely high & narrow rear wings. The teams have little choice in terms of their FORM. Their creativity has been BOXED in.
Form follows Function does NOT have to mean ugly! RB5 designer Newey has done his best with the FIA "box"... the nose aero & the large rear wing end plates seem much different than the other '09 F1 cars.
Trent 9:34PM (2/09/2009)
i want vittel's beanie.
Reply
AZZO45b 11:16PM (2/09/2009)
I'm sure the RedBull site will sell it to you... at some point!!!
ack154 9:41PM (2/09/2009)
Spamming for "jobstaxi . com"? Really?
Anyway... I can't freakin wait for this years racing seasons to kick off. ALMS, more Rolex, F1, can't wait!
Reply
bmwMontreal 10:04PM (2/09/2009)
Interesting, this article, (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73140) which quotes Mosley directly seems to suggest the rear diffusers of the Toyota and Williams cars have been approved by the FIA. That is pending a contradicting ruling by the stewards should a team file a protest in Australia. The article does suggest at least one other team is devolving a similar diffuser, so Red Bull is going to have to give us a show if they plan to take advantage of the ever shrinking amount of on-track testing.
In regards to the best looking Formula 1 car it would be either the Benetton B201 or the BMW F1.08.
Reply
Tony K 10:26PM (2/09/2009)
Looks like Red Bull may be trying to carry the diffuser as far back as possible, perhaps extending it to a virtual diffuser created by the lower rear wing element and the end-plates since they extend down to the bottom of the car. Maybe not, since I'm no Adrian Newey, but I'd bet the end-plates have something to do with it since they're quite large.
Nice nose and front wing as well; the triple element wing and small nose look quite well thought out... unlike the Renault R29.
Tom Winch 10:18PM (2/09/2009)
There's a good video at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dzSBtmytmk
showing a comparison between the 2008 and 2009 RB F1 cars in regards to rules changes, etc.
Reply
AZZO45b 11:14PM (2/09/2009)
Same video was on the RedBull F1 site
http://www.redbullracing.com
Soccer Mom 10:22PM (2/09/2009)
2009 F1 season will be known as a race of snow plows.
Reply
Temple 10:36PM (2/09/2009)
The rear-end pictures are already online. Also, the rear-diffusers for Toyota and Wiliiams has already been approved, but the RedBull doesn't use it as of yet.
RB5 rear.
http://www.motorsport-total.com/bilder/2009/090209/z1234190417.jpg
Reply
dougjp 10:48PM (2/09/2009)
I don't have a good feeling about the ability of that front wing to stay on, especially over the curbs plus how Newey designs cars anyway - fragile. Witness Coulthard's car last year. Look at the size and the leverage it would put on those struts. For safety I think they will have to establish various angled stress rules.
Reply
br4nd0nh347 11:06PM (2/09/2009)
I'm liking this one. Better than all the previous one's released.
Reply
dwaltr 12:54AM (2/10/2009)
Get rid of the wings. They made the cars faster, but they never improved the racing.
Reply
Tim 5:08AM (2/10/2009)
True. The real glory years of F1 were the early to mid '60s. Man, those cigars on wheels looked great and the racing was terrific.
AZZO45b 11:24AM (2/10/2009)
Gee Tim: How did F1 survive all this time with GP racing's product on the decline since the 1960's. All that racing we watched in the 70's/ 80's / & 90's was just crap?
Bring back the 60's era cars... where we lost 3-4 star drivers a year (dead) & countless season ending injuries. Sorry I live in the present & look for my race series' to look to the future. JMO.