F1
Peter Prodromou of Infiniti Red Bull Racing describes the role of aerodynamics in building F1 cars.
RedBull.com: Peter, aerodynamic rules have changed significantly over the last five seasons. Do you enjoy it when the goalposts keep moving or is it frustrating?
PP: Generally when the rules change, what’s happening is the rules are becoming more restrictive. That does create frustration. But changing the rules gives you a chance to do something better than your competitors. It gives you a new opportunity.
RB: In the modern era of cost-conscious F1, you’re limited in the number of wind tunnel hours and teraflops of processing power available for CFD. Does that make the job harder?
PP: I don’t think the job has got harder. We’re very adaptable and so when we’re faced with a set of constraints, we adapt. We’ve put a lot of energy into our wind tunnel programme to make it more efficient. We’ve probably managed to increase the amount of work we do, in the shortest amount of time: we’re doing more, not less.
RB: How sophisticated is simulation today? Do parts that work in the lab not always perform on the track?
PP: Aerodynamics is an exact science – but the tricky part is understanding the science. F1’s revolution with aerodynamics only started 25 years ago and we’re still evolving our simulation capabilities – both in the wind tunnel and with computers. So there’s always going to be an element of doubt when we take something to the track. That’s not a question of the science being inexact, it’s us not being smart enough or our tools not being developed sufficiently.
RB: How do you feel on the morning of the first winter test with a new car?
PP: It’s a mix of excitement and anxiety! I’m always concerned that I’ve got something wrong. It’s a wonderful feeling after the first day’s data is collected and you know the car is working as projected. The drivers are very good with that too. Within a number of laps they can tell you whether the new car is looking decent or not.
RB: Do designers have a favourite car?
PP: I’ve got a few! The 1991 McLaren was special for me. It was my first year with McLaren so I didn’t have much to do with it, but it was the year in which Ayrton Senna won his final championship. Here at Infiniti Red Bull Racing, it’s difficult to choose between the last five. The 2009 car stands out because it was our first car capable of running at the front, and that makes it special.
RB: What’s the focus this year? Have you been working on the RB9 or the next car?
PP: It’s between the two. It’s challenging but we’re more able to run a solid parallel programme now than we were between 2008 and 2009 for the last big regulation change. Back then we just didn’t have the resources. But it’s been obvious that to remain competitive, we need a strong parallel programme. Soon we’ll stop working on the RB9 and the RB10 will be our sole focus.
RB: Is the change between the 2013 and 2014 cars a bigger challenge than that between 2008-2009?
PP: Yes. It changes everything. There is a huge packaging challenge around the new engine and the rest of the aerodynamics is also brand new. It’s a big deal. Exciting times.
