Despite leading position for Mercedes, Red Bull loses wind tunnel session

Red Bull Racing can spend less time in the wind tunnel than the competition over the next six months. Despite Mercedes leading the race after half a season, it is Red Bull that gets the least time.

From 2021 it has been decided that there will be restrictions on the use of the wind tunnel and CFD to develop your car. This season, a maximum of 40 wind tunnel or CFD sessions per week will be allowed. In addition to this maximum number, the top teams will be further penalised, with an increasing scale based on the final ranking.

Testing in the wind tunnel

This means that the number one in the final ranking can only use 90 percent, and therefore can only go into the wind tunnel 36 times. In contrast to the number ten, that is a big difference. They are allowed to use 112.5 percent of the total number of tests, which gives them 45 tests per week.

The first half-year the ranking of last season was used. So Mercedes could only use the wind tunnel or CFD 36 times, where Red Bull could use them 37 times a week. Halfway through the year, however, the balance sheet is being redrawn. Despite the fact that Mercedes is in the lead halfway through the season, Red Bull gets the least test time.

Bad luck for Red Bull

This is because in these regulations it was decided to take stock not halfway through the season, but really halfway through the year. So we looked at the championship standings on July 1 and that is to the disadvantage of Red Bull Racing. At that date the Grands Prix of Austria, Great Britain and Hungary had not yet been driven and Red Bull was still leading the championship.

Red Bull loses a test session every week while Mercedes gains one compared to the first half of the season. Ferrari and AlphaTauri lose the most ground. They were two places higher on July 1 than at the end of 2020, and are losing two sessions a week. For Aston Martin and Alpine the opposite is the case.