According to Max Verstappen, the slightly older wind tunnel that Red Bull Racing uses should not be an excuse for the setback in 2024. Dr. Helmut Marko also previously confirmed that the facility is very outdated, although the advisor hopes that the new wind tunnel will be available from can be put into use in 2026.
While teams such as McLaren and Aston Martin can rely on a modern wind tunnel, Red Bull Racing still does so with a wind tunnel that was built at the end of the Second World War in Bedford, about thirty kilometers from its headquarters. in Milton Keynes. The tunnel has been used since the takeover of Jaguar F1 by Red Bull, but there are now some signs of age-related ailments. For example, Marko said that the warm-up time left something to be desired, the distance to the head office is just a little too great and that the tunnel depends on the outside temperature.
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New wind tunnel on the way
Yet there is also good news, because shortly before Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz died in October 2022, the Austrian had approved the construction of a brand new wind tunnel. Construction has now started and it is expected that the new tunnel will be ready in 2026 and can therefore be used from 2027. To also reduce transport costs, the facility is being built on the Technology Campus. This means that the building is close to the engine department, but also the office where the car is designed.
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All teams have their own problems, even with modern wind tunnels
Although the current wind tunnel is not optimal, Verstappen wants to talk to it Motorsport.com cannot attribute the decline of the RB20 to this. “We now have a fairly old wind tunnel, of course. But until this year it has done everything very well. Some things are just difficult to understand. You see that with all teams, except McLaren so far. All teams have had their own problems, also with modern wind tunnels.” However, it is noticeable at Red Bull that the updates simply do not always work. “I think it’s extremely difficult to fine-tune things perfectly and get exactly the right data out of it. That could be due to a lot of things in the wind tunnel itself or how it correlates with the circuit.”
