Red Bull's get out clause?

**Steve Boyd** · 23rd February 2023, 01:19

From a post by "Fortitude":

Work on the wet weather aero package, which was announced last year, continues, with teams able to work on the package outside their Aerodynamic Testing Restriction (ATR) limits and outside the cost cap. Testing for the new aero kit, which is being constructed to limit water spray, is to take place in Q2 or Q3 of 2023.

Does this mean that the aero testing limits imposed on Red Bull for their overspending will be irrelevant?

. . . "We were testing stuff for the wet but it didn't work in the wet, so we're going to use it for the dry" . . .

**airshifter** · 23rd February 2023, 05:19

The wet weather package is intended to be a standardized part. It will be used only in really wet conditions to minimize spray, and won't really have much impact on the overall aero of the cars. The idea is to have a type of wheel arch that can be fitted before wet races so that spray will be cut down and those races can take place with better driver visibility.

As for Red Bull it means the same as it means for other teams, they can work on this wheel arch system all they want without penalty. I doubt any teams will be working too hard on it though, since it will take time and resources to do so.

**Steve Boyd** · 24th February 2023, 00:31

Ah! - They mean "mudguards"

**airshifter** · 27th February 2023, 08:52

Originally Posted by Steve Boyd

Ah! - They mean "mudguards"

Pretty much.

It might be harder than it seems. Since the new regs create more upward wash they want to clean that up for wet weather. And it seems easy enough, but when you consider the aero loads along with who knows how many gallons of water hitting them at those speeds, it would have to be a fairly strong "mudguard". And since the idea is to have them standardized for easy and quick fitting, it might take a bit of work to get done properly.

It seems like the only way to make them work would be something that throws the water and spray out towards the side with some intensity to clear it off the racing line.

**Steve Boyd** · 28th February 2023, 01:11

Originally Posted by airshifter

It seems like the only way to make them work would be something that throws the water and spray out towards the side with some intensity to clear it off the racing line.

That might be OK for following but might make overtaking difficult - like passing a truck at high speed on a wet road. It'll be interesting to see what they finally come up with and whether bristles are involved. A lot of trucks have bristles on the mudguards and mudflaps so that the spray droplets coalesce in an attempt to reduce the mist and encourage the water to form larger droplets that fall to the ground sooner.