Does The Red Bull RB9 Use Suspension-Controlled KERS Harvesting?

"Mikeado" (mikeado) 10/07/2013 at 13:14 • Filed to: Formula 1, Red Bull

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Here's some juicy speculation for you: Red Bull's car might have an active KERS harvesting system that works on the inside wheel in corners - triggered by the damper moving into position - to have the same effect as ESP (or "Brake Steer" as it's sometimes known), without actually being ESP and therefore being legal (for now). Here's an excerpt from !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! :

There is no limit or regulations on when the KERS charging phase during a lap should take place. It is speculated in an article on Racecar Engineer that Red Bull has placed extra sensors on the shocks which can pick up the loading and compressive phases that the car experiences during the lap. When the shocks are compressed the sensors will allow the engine to utilise the full torque of the engine. However when they are fully extended, the sensors pick up the differentiation in load and will then activate the KERS charging phase, reducing torque to the wheels and instead sending it to speed up the harvesting process. This reduction in torque therefore limits wheelspin and potential loss of traction and the result is a totally legal form of “controlled TC”.

Obviously traction control is completely illegal in Formula 1, however this system of dispersing the torque demands away from the wheels and into the KERS harvesting process on corner exit, is a completely legal solution and whilst there is no concrete proof, is certainly a very realistic proposition.

If both of these advantages were present on the Red Bull car, it would go a long way to explaining why the RB9 has started to run streaks ahead in the development race compared to its rivals. However (especially with the engine maps) these advantages do require a specific type of driving style.

It is speculated that Vettel has managed to optimise himself far better when it comes to extracting the maximum potential of the RB9’s advantages, by adjusting his driving style to perfectly suit the demands of the car. Hours in the simulator and belief that the car will stick on corner exit, have helped him to reach a confidence and connection in the car that Webber simply cannot match.

- See more at: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

If this is true, it's an absolutely brilliant solution that partially explains Vettel's four wins in a row and tremendous one-lap pace. Unfortunately for us, it's unlikely that anyone's going to put a similar system together in time for Japan or India, so Seb's just going to win those races too and become champion. Then it'll probably be banned for 2014 because innovation is bad and wrong...

McMike > Mikeado 10/07/2013 at 13:19

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"it's unlikely that anyone's going to put a similar system together for Japan or India"

The rest of the engineers just came back from the drawing board, and have this to show for it.

GhostZ > Mikeado 10/07/2013 at 13:23

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I think they may be on to something, I found this video from early this year, showing Adrian Newey explaining the system to a fellow engineer:

For Sweden > Mikeado 10/07/2013 at 13:23

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That explains a lot of why Seb is so good on cold tires. With the entire field having limited mechanical grip, no one else has a chance without this form of torque vectoring.

dropthatclutch > McMike 10/07/2013 at 13:25

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That's exactly how I feel every time I think I could become an F1 engineer and then read something like that.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > Mikeado 10/07/2013 at 13:33

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When I first read your headline my thought was, "Jesus Christ, I'm as sick as anyone is of watching Seb parade around at the front without fanfare, but the conspiracy theories are getting old."

After reading this, though:

a. Brilliant

b. Seems kind of reasonable, to be honest

c. Perhaps fits the narrative of the funky sounding exhaust

d. Makes me wonder if there isn't a way for teams to exploit hydraulic-hybrid systems in the future, if the regulations don't expressly forbid it. Might be heavy, but with the increased minimum weight the teams may be looking at different solutions that were once considered too heavy.

Telumektar > Mikeado 10/07/2013 at 13:39

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The moment some RB Engineer came up with this magnificent loop-hole exploit.

That has to be one of the best "bending the rules" moments in F1 in the last 5 years or more. And is technically legal.

davedave1111 > Mikeado 10/07/2013 at 13:45

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I'm incredibly sceptical. To the extent that I'll stick my neck out and say that it's plainly not true.

For one thing, it would be obvious to anyone watching, particularly with the thermal imaging cameras now out there, so we'd have known about it from the first practice session they used it in.

For another, the performance gains would be hugely greater than we've seen. On the order of seconds a lap. There's no way Webber wouldn't be at least second to Vettel. We'd also have seen big problems with the quali-time cut-off if they started going that much faster, and we haven't.

For yet another, building torque vectoring into a car is so far contrary to the spirit of the rules that the stewards would look very dimly on it. Even if you had the high-ground of the rules in a technical sense, they'd be very, very strongly motivated to slap you down anyway. It's happened in the past.

Finally, above all else, we've just been in Korea. The Red Bulls would have had a ridiculous advantage in tyre wear if they had torque vectoring, on a track where the front right takes a real beating. In fact, though, they had the same problems as everyone else.

All that said, of course Red Bull have TC on their cars. As does every other team. Like when they 'banned' team orders, it doesn't matter what the rules say because they're simply impossible to enforce.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Mikeado 10/07/2013 at 14:06

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Even if it's not true, that's really, really clever. I'm impressed.

Icemanmaybeirunoutofthetalents > Mikeado 10/07/2013 at 14:09

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The first line is itself wrong. KERS charging can be done only under braking. That is in the tech regulations. So cutting engine power by determining unloading of the suspension and hence charging KERS while powering out of corners is illegal.

Mikeado > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 10/07/2013 at 14:28

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The raised weight limit is to cater for the far more substantial KERS. I don't think there's enough wiggle room for a heavy solution to something as well, especially if you've got a taller driver.

Mikeado > Icemanmaybeirunoutofthetalents 10/07/2013 at 14:29

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Is that so?

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > Mikeado 10/07/2013 at 14:29

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Well, there's that.

DasWauto > Mikeado 10/08/2013 at 00:11

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Interesting and believable theory. One correction though: Red Bull's car might have an active KERS harvesting system that works on the inside wheel in corners.

This isn't possible. The KERS motor/generator is connected to the crank of the combustion engine and therefor its torque reduction cannot be vectored between the left and right wheels.

The concept of using the KERS to reduced the torque applied to the rear wheels based on suspension loading is interesting though. It would provide an advantage* on corner exit and perhaps corner entry (reversing the effect by reducing KERS harvesting during braking to keep the rear wheels from slipping) allowing the driver to perhaps brake fractionally later and accelerate earlier.

So no brake steer effect. Just better stability and traction during acceleration and braking.

These benefits would be magnified on bumpier circuits and might allow the car to be more stable over kerbs.

*though I don't think it's on the order of seconds/lap as davedave1111 suggested it should be