https://twitter.com/tedkravitz/status/428877721737785344/photo/1 According to Kravitz it's the battery (ERS) control unit... Marussia has come to the party though, and their car isn't terrible looking. Lets hope for some points for them with bianchi .
Interesting. Revising my post above with info from your source... ... it really is one of their problems. I thought Horner and Newey left for the hotel, but if they're leaving for the factory, that means: Serious trouble...
Yes indeed, they may have this sorted for Bahrain testing, but I expect their car requires serious changes which may affect the car visually due to alternate packaging requirements. Not the end of the world, but certainly not what they wanted either.
I am still surprised about the whole issue. Of course Newey's cars are pushing the envelope, and given the tight package, they may run into problems when it gets hot and the cars are at full load. But not being able to roll around for a few laps? Problems like that must show up in early calculations. Either someone f***** up big time at Red Bull, and they don't strike me as unprofessional as to not adress such a major issue, or the power electronics aren't up to spec. Or the spec changed. Then again, Renault Sport too should be in the business long enough to deliver what they promise. Power transistors (IGBTs, MOSFETs) not working despite the specification claiming a certain temperature range is not unheard of, but we're not talking about a Chinese backyard supplier here... Edit: Not so sure about the "end of the world" thing, either. Changing the position of any of the major parts there, engine, tank, turbo, batteries, is indeed serious. A new chassis would mean new crash tests and so on.
Okay just to get a few things straight, Mercedes and Ferrari powertrains are running fine? Renault engines are not working because of an issue with the batteries themselves, or is it the control software which is failing? Are the problems occuring on all Renault engined cars or just RB due to their packaging of the batteries/bms? Sorry if my questions are somewhat redudant, but I unfortunately don't have the time to stay fully up to date.
Packaging, Red Bull are back to the drawing board with the issue. MB are especially solid, Ferrari are running very well too.
I'm not sure if it's the RB packaging alone. The other Renault teams aren't exactly up front, either. As I said, I suppose it's a Renault battery issue which gets worse in the RB due to their packaging.
Just heard this from @f1fanatic_co_uk when you say "Red Bull RB10" it sounds like "Red Bull are beaten". Try it.
Thanks. So with Red Bull the tight packaging of the turbo and ERS powertrain makes the already problematic Renault system worse? That's the reason why RB are most affected by it compared to the other Renault powered teams? I was just confused for a moment whether it was a RB-only problem or a widespread fault in Renault's battery packs / bms. (The answer is a combination of both?)
That's at least my theory, which is worth exactly what you paid for it It's not clear if the other Renault teams have the exact same issues (or does anyone have more information?), but as we can witness, neither of them is doing anything that could be described by the word "fine", so it's reasonable to suppose that they're facing similar problems.
that is funny. i recall last year RB and Renault kept developing the engine maps, diffuser etc while other teams shifted focus to to 2014 powertrain-as a result it appears tha renault looks like they are very late coming to the party. that said, it is impossible to predict when/if renault get their shyte together but i wouldn't bet against newey long term.
Adrian Newey said in an interview that the last months of 2013 were spent on keeping the RB9 a race winning car instead of shifting the strategy towards the 2014 car, the latter being the intended 2013 R&D strategy. Sounds like a bit of an amateur hour at Red Bull. Surely a team with next to unlimited resources can afford to do like Ferrari did. Set up a team specifically working full time on the 2014 car throughout the season! One thing is certain, they are paying for last year's compromises now.
Not so sure about that. I'd agree with you if RB turned out to be off the pace for a few tenths of a second in the races. But not being able to drive a few laps without the car breaking down is so severe that there must be one singular issue (or consequences thereof) that has only turned up now. If it really was a 'systematic' mistake it'd be embarassing for a Formula Student team, but devastating for a championship winning F1 outfit. I can't imagine that.
They are behind their competitors and every lap tested in 1 lap extra R&D, experience and advantage which RB are not getting.
+1 Vergne tired going out late in the day in the STR, and didn't even reach the end of the pitlane per Autosport live! The few laps they've managed between them have also been *way* off the pace - Almost as if they're not even trying to use the ERS stuff. And it's not even particularly hot there right now either. I think I read track temperature reached 27c (80F) earlier today. They could all be in a world of hurt! Cheers, Ian
This Mclaren was designed under Whitmarsh and it appears to be a very good car, so I have to wonder why Ron is taking charge again now. Whitmarsh seemed to have things under control after all?
