Tech analysis: Red Bull planning shorter nose

Red Bull's bid to further take the challenge to Mercedes is set to be boosted soon by the arrival of a new shorter nose – which will be right at the limit of the regulations.

The new version, understood to be 1.5 centimetres shorter than the version the team has run up until now, has required the passing of a new FIA crash test.

There had been suggestions the nose could make its debut in Friday practice at Montreal, but that did not happen.

However, the nose could still appear over the Montreal weekend – or it may wait until the next race in Baku where, with the very long straight, anything to improve aerodynamic performance will deliver a boost.

Nose length

The search for performance in F1 often starts with the front wing and nose, as they are two structures that have an effect on the airflow first.

The trend up until 2014 was to place the nose structure as high as the regulations would permit, not only to get quality airflow under the nose to the turning vanes and splitter, but to use the 'neutral' central section of the front wing in a certain way too.

Like the 'neutral' camera housings, teams still try to find an aerodynamic advantage when one should not exist.

The 'neutral' central section is probably most famously known for the vortex that is shed from its juncture with the flapped section of the wing: the Y250 vortex.

However, since the change in regulations for 2014, particular attention has been paid to how the nose structure interacts with the neutral profile, with one having an effect on the other.

As such, all of the teams have looked to design a nose that is as short as the regulations allow, placing the nose tip as far back over the neutral section as possible.

The lowest part of the tip cannot be more than 135mm above the reference plane and so will undoubtedly work with the neutral section. But how much depends on its position relative to the neutral section.

This can either be seen as an undesirable after-effect of the regulations, or an opportunity to be grabbed with both hands.

Red Bull has up until now run a nose which is a little longer than the 850mm minimum from the centreline, something aimed at minimising the drawbacks of its power unit deficit to make the car more aerodynamically efficient.

The new version will likely have been in preparation for some time and the increase in horsepower, from the TAG-branded Renault power units, has finally allowed the designers to reshift their focus in a bid to extract even more performance from this area of the car.