GP BELGIUM ( Spa )

Changes from Hungary 1.Introduction of the F‐ Duct system alongside with a new rear wing 2.The engine’s cover side camera winglet was replaced to the rear and lower so as not to block the air feeders of the F‐duct system 3.New elongated sidepods alongside with new engine cover design which is now consisted of multiple parts compared to the previous simpler one 4.Smaller brake ducts 5.Rear floor modifications and moved to the rear heat covers protection 6.SNORAS Logo replaced the DIAC on the sidepods

FRONT WING

It was not strange to see Renault keeping its Hungary ( an ultra high downforce track ) front wing version at Belgium which is a relatively low downforce track . This can be explained by the fact that Spa may features long straights but there are also some areas at track ( sector 3 ) that require good grip and increased stability .

REAR WING ‐ F –DUCT SYSTEM

Renault initially declared that would not intend to waste time and effort on developing its own version of the F‐duct system but rather on extensive R30 development . Several months have passed since then and now at Belgium Renault presented its own version of the rear wing stalling system . The team obviously changed mind and voted yes for developing its own version , even though the F‐ duct system would be out of rules next season , probably because firstly the R30 shows great potential and secondly the battle with Mercedes GP for the 4th constructor’s championship position is within realistic reach . Renault’s decision to have its own version paid off at Spa as Kubica was high on top speed list . Furthermore the team evaluated the system to worth up to half a second in the long Spa track but according to Kubica Renault is not going to re‐use the system at next race at ultra low downforce track of Monza .

Qualifying Speed Trap PosNo Driver Time of DaySpeed 1 7 14:37:37 312.9 2 5 14:47:58 307.8 3 1 14:45:51 307.4 4 2 14:46:59 307.3 5 11 14:47:45 307.0 6 6 14:47:54 306.2 7 17 14:25:50 305.5 8 14 14:47:38 304.9 9 4 14:48:06 304.4 10 23 14:10:39 304.1 11 19 14:45:39 303.9 12 16 Sebastien Buemi 14:37:52 303.6 13 8 Fernando Alonso 15:07:10 303.5 14 9 14:47:57 303.4 15 3 14:48:07 303.3 16 22 14:10:39 301.3 17 15 14:47:04 301.1 18 10 Nico Hulkenberg 14:47:51 300.0

Source www.f1.com.

As all versions of the F‐duct system so Renault’s one is operated by the driver’s left hand . Inside the cockpit and behind the driver’s left shoulder there is small rectangular hole connecting the system to the driver’s operating control area . If we take a closer look on the cockpit area behind the driver we can a see that the introduction of the system caused the left rear cockpit wall to rise up a little so as to fit the system’s tube .

The system itself receives air from two little holes placed on either side of the airbox ( 1 ) . When the system is activated by the driver at straights the air entering the holes mentioned before , feeds the main plane of the rear wing ( 2 ) , which is connected to the system via a small inclined downwards tube hosed inside the engine cover . When the system is inactive the air then flows out and under the wing’s profile ( 3 ) via another tube (black colored) placed further below the first one . Nevertheless the exiting flow from the black lower tube is directed above the extra winglet mounted on the wing’s beam so as not to block the airflow onto it .

A clever evolvement of the system would be to sent the exiting air , by first speeding it up using a Venturi effect inside the tube , directly onto the winglet to maximize the downforce production

SIDEPODS ‐ ENGINE COVER

Alongside with the introduction of the F‐duct system the R30 featured also elongated to the rear sidepods and a new engine cover .

Belgium Pre‐Belgium

The new engine cover presented at Spa has a new upper part which can be separated from the rest cover body to offer more freedom to mechanics to enter inside the cover and reach the engine and F‐duct system internals . Moreover the cover is elongated significantly to the rear and features a small cut ( blue arrow ) where it meets the upper suspension’s wishbone .

REAR FLOOR ‐ EXHAUSTS

The thermal protective cover and the vertical inner fence were moved to the rear and are now spotted under the rear’s suspension wishbones , a changed triggered by the elongation of the sidepods and the floor exhaust outlets to the rear .

FRONT BRAKE DUCTS

Both drivers used the Silverstone tested version smaller ducts which were also used by Kubica only at Hockenheim

Hungary larger ducts

Belgium smaller ducts

Author.: Michalis K. ( bar555)

PS = all images are from official teams media sectors PS2 = Illustrations are made by Michalis K. (bar555 )