The Red Bull RB5 is a Formula One racing car designed by Adrian Newey and Geoff Willis for the Red Bull Racing team. The RB5 will compete in the 2009 Formula One season, and will be driven by Sebastian Vettel, who drove for Red Bull's sister team Toro Rosso in the 2008 season, and Mark Webber. The car was launched on February 9, 2009 at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain.[2]
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| Category | Formula One | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Red Bull Racing | ||||||||
| Designer(s) | Adrian Newey (Chief Technical Officer) Geoff Willis (Technical Director) | ||||||||
| Technical specifications[1] | |||||||||
| Chassis | composite monocoque | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Aluminium alloy uprights, upper and lower carbon wishbones and pushrods, torsion bar springs and anti roll bars, Multimatic dampers | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Aluminium alloy uprights, upper and lower carbon wishbones and pullrods, torsion bar springs and anti roll bars, Multimatic dampers | ||||||||
| Engine | Renault RS27 (90°) 2400cc V8, naturally aspirated, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted, 18,000 RPM-Limited with KERS | ||||||||
| Transmission | 7 forward + 1 reverse | ||||||||
| Fuel | Total Group | ||||||||
| Tyres | Bridgestone Potenza OZ Racing Front: 12.7in x 13in OZ Racing Rear: 13.4in x 13in | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | Red Bull Racing | ||||||||
| Notable drivers | 14.  Mark Webber15.  Sebastian Vettel | ||||||||
| Debut | 2009 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||
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Technical specifications
New rules in place for the 2009 season require cars to have narrower and higher rear wings and wider and lower front wings, designed to reduce air disturbance to following cars and hence make overtaking easier.[3][4] Slick tyres will be re-introduced into Formula One, after being absent since 1998.[5] This will increase the RB5's tyre grip by about 20%.[5]
Finally, the RB5 will feature a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), which will allow energy which would otherwise be wasted while braking to be re-used in set amounts per lap, via a boost button on the driver's steering wheel.[5] This is the result of new rules for the 2009 season.[5] Red Bull originally attempted to develop their own system, but a factory fire resulting from overheated batteries stalled progress.[6] In January 2009 Red Bull announced that they would use an identical KERs system to the Renault team, in an extension of the existing customer engine deal between the teams.[6]
2009 season
Launch
The RB5 was launched later than most of its rivals, to allow a longer development time at the expense of a shorter testing time.[7] Red Bull expects the RB5 to be more competitive than its predecessor, the RB4, which achieved a single podium in 2008.[8] Vettel was optimistic when questioned about the car's potential:
Obviously it's not correct sitting here and say I am going to win the world championship. I want to, but we need to see. We need to see how we are going, where we are in comparison to the others. I believe that the new rules could give a chance to teams like us to close the gap to the front but the favourites are Ferrari and McLaren, no doubt.[9]
Testing
Initial tests of the RB5 at Jerez were halted when high gearbox oil temperatures were detected.[10] When the issue was resolved the RB5 was the quickest 2009 specification car at Jerez, where Vettel was faster than the equivalent Williams, McLaren and Renault cars.[11] Webber returned to the cockpit after breaking his leg while cycling in November 2008; he completed 83 laps in the RB5, around the distance of a Grand Prix, and reported no problems whilst lapping faster than Vettel the previous day.[12]
Complete Formula One results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Red Bull Racing | Renault RS27 V8 | B | AUS | MAL | CHN | BHR | ESP | MON | TUR | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | BRA | ABU | 1.5* | 7th* | |
| Webber | 12 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Vettel | 13† | 15 |
* Season in progress.
† Driver failed to finish, but was classified as they had completed >90% of the race distance.
References
- ^ "RB5". redbullf1.com. 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
- ^ Jonathan Noble (2009-02-09). "Red Bull unveil the RB5 at Jerez". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
- ^ Matt Beer (2008-11-12). "Williams reveal 2009 wing package". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
- ^ "Whiting talks about the new F1 rules". GrandPrix.com. Inside F1, Inc. 2009-01-27. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
- ^ a b c d "A beginner's guide to the 2009 rule changes". Formula1.com. Formula One Management. 2008-11-27. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
- ^ a b Jonathan Noble (2009-01-27). "Red Bull to use Renault's KERS". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
- ^ "The new Red Bull RB5 is unveiled". GrandPrix.com. Inside F1, Inc. 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
- ^ Edd Straw and Pablo Elizalde (2009-02-09). "Horner hopeful on 'different' approach". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
- ^ Edd Straw and Pablo Elizalde (2009-02-09). "Vettel says the target is to win races". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
- ^ Edd Straw (2009-02-09). "Gearbox problem stops RB5's first test". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
- ^ Jonathan Noble (2009-02-10). "Vettel shines with new Red Bull at Jerez". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
- ^ Edd Straw (2009-02-11). "Vettel shines with new Red Bull at Jerez". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
External links
