F1 Tech | Is RB22 really the benchmark as Toto Wolff claimed?

After a closed-door test in Barcelona last week, Formula 1 cars have hit the track in Bahrain for the second testing session.

Thanks to the live data and onboards available, a lot of technical aspects started to emerge: with such a big regulation change, many elements differ among the top teams, including not only the external shape of the car (aerodynamics and suspensions), but also the engine modes used by drivers during their laps at the Bahrain International Circuit.

From this point of view, the RB22’s great top speed compared to others immediately stands out, along with Verstappen’s unique driving style to recharge the battery as much as possible in the slow-speed sections of the track.

Toto Wolff revealed in an interview with Sky Sport F1 that Red Bull is the benchmark at the moment, and Mercedes’ engine issues on the second day of testing seem to confirm it, but is it really true? Let’s try to find it out.

The RB22 debuted on track in Bahrain on Wednesday in Verstappen’s hands for the whole day and the car’s performance immediately seemed promising: to test the engine in hot conditions and on a stop-and-go layout, Red Bull’s engineers decided to use an aggressive engine mode straight away, gathering data on both the efficiency and consumption of the ICE and the effective power deployed.

The result of this choice was that the RB22 showed very impressive top speeds at the end of both the main straight and on the other straight lines of the circuit. The Dutchman was about 10 km/h faster than the MCL40 on the main straight and about 7 km/h on the straight to turn 4.

This superiority, however, highlighted the different engine modes used by the teams so far: Verstappen was gaining most of the time on the straights of the first sector, Norris kept more energy for the second part of the lap, having a bigger delta on Verstappen and Leclerc in the short straight between turn 10 and turn 11 and on the long straight in the third sector.

This difference in performance showed that teams were still experimenting with energy deployment throughout the lap, and drivers adopted different strategies to recover energy: while Leclerc and Norris lifted more in the braking zones of medium-speed corners, Verstappen aggressively used lower gears in slow-speed corners.

As is visible from the onboard footage, he used the first gear in turns 1, 8, and 10, while in turn 11 he used the 3rd gear, even though it is typically a fourth-gear corner.

The goal of this approach is to keep the RPM as high as possible by using lower gears, as the mechanical energy of the transmission is converted into electrical energy by an alternator and charges the battery.

This kind of driving style may seem counterintuitive to drivers, but it’s the best strategy to be faster for the whole lap: losing 1 or 2 tenths in the braking and cornering phase allows drivers to have a more charged battery in the exit phase. Thus, the battery provides more energy in traction, allowing the driver to have a higher top speed at the end of the straight.

Beyond this aspect, the RB22 proved to be consistent and strong in terms of performance as well: during Wednesday’s afternoon session, which is more indicative thanks to the lower track temperature, Verstappen completed a series of runs on the three sets of tyres available (the C1, the C2, and the C3), showing a stable trend.

This is a positive signal that the car has a good mechanical base and looks after the tyres very well. Comparing the lap times seen during the first day among top teams, Red Bull seems the team to have a very solid car (together with McLaren), but there are still a lot of variables, including engine modes and fuel load, which are unknown and can yet have a big impact on performance.

A partially negative aspect of the RB22’s behaviour is rear instability: to make the car turn as quickly as possible both in the slow-speed corners and in the medium speed corners, Red Bull’s engineers decided to shift the aerodynamic and mechanical balance slightly towards the front-end, to suit Verstappen’s driving style as well.

This made the car more unstable on the rear axle out of the slow-speed corners, where traction is needed.

However, this behaviour could also be caused by the electronic configuration chosen: with the electrical engine having such a big impact on performance, finding a good interaction in terms of power delivery of the electric motor and the ICE is not straightforward and probably Red Bull Racing (together with all other teams) dedicated Wednesday’s sessions to make tests on this aspect as well.

Despite Wednesday being a very positive day for Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen, Thursday morning brought a wake-up call: the RB22 was stopped by an undisclosed issue found by mechanics while rebuilding the car at night, with Hadjar spending the whole morning in the Red Bull hospitality.

The team’s mechanics, however, managed to get this issue fixed right after lunch, allowing the French driver to complete 87 laps in the afternoon session alone. The 223 laps completed in a day and a half prove that the RB22 is solid and reliable, despite some normal and justified youth problems.

In conclusion, the RB22 demonstrated to be quick and reliable since the first day of testing, despite some unknown troubles during the morning session on Thursday. Beyond this, the car has looked balanced and easy on tyres, two aspects that, for now, place Red Bull among the best in this first testing session in Bahrain.