Since the new regulations introduced in 2022, one of the most discussed aspects has been the downwashing concept.
A downwash design channels the air towards the lower area of the car, in particular towards the diffuser, in order to generate more downforce e consequently more speed. But despite it being an important aspect to consider, it does not give guarantees.
AlphaTauri Formula 1 technical director Jody Egginton, talking to Motorsport.com, explained this aspect:
“People do converge in any regulation and Red Bull and McLaren and a few of the teams have shown some really interesting development directions, and everyone’s looking at what everyone’s doing.
“And at the top level, our concept is a downwashing concept, not dissimilar to a number of other teams.
“But the devil is in the detail. There are cars that are not scoring podiums every weekend that have got some really nice features on them.
“We’re always looking at what people are doing, and it’s about bringing all that together and understanding it, you got to understand that.
“The downwashing concept, we can all sit there and draw it, it’s not a problem. But the devil is the detail, and we’re moving ourselves forward with lots of small detail on the car.”
Egginton added that the main goal for the teams is for the single-seater to perform well on all different types of tracks, avoiding extreme peaks and troughs during the course of the season:
“There’s lots of carrots and things to look for, but you’ve got to make sure that the car’s got a good operating envelope, and it’s driveable.
“As the regulations mature, that becomes more and more important, to not fall into a trap of being too attracted to a certain way, and missing out on a certain handling characteristic.
“We want a big operating envelope so that the drivers can make use of the aero performance for various different circuit types.
“If you want to win a championship or be very strong, you’ve got to be consistent, and one thing we learned from 2019, ’20 to ’21, was the importance of that.”
Photo Credits: Red Bull Content Pool
In the development process, the resources the team can count on are of considerable importance. In anticipation of future projects, AlphaTauri will in fact move its base to Milton Keynes, where the new facility will be larger, better equipped and closer to the Red Bull Racing one.
“We’re moving to a larger facility in Milton Keynes, we’re sort of outgrowing where we are now,” said CEO Peter Bayer .
“And there are opportunities that come with that as well. The amount of activity we’re doing in the UK is similar, but we’re expanding the size of that operation, so it’s positive.”
“The Milton Keynes Performance Centre is necessary because the Bicester facility is becoming too small already, we don’t have any parking spaces, we have no canteen.
“We have to be an attractive employer. First of all, it obviously starts with the team as such, with the identity, but then there’s also the facilities and the opportunities for people to have a career path. And that’s why those facilities will be extremely important.
“Also, the lease in Bicester is running out, so we had to make a move anyway. And the advantage of obviously being closer to Red Bull Racing and their campus is that it will be easier for us when it’s about wind tunnel work, about simulator work. So that all will make life easier for all the engineers.”
