The advent of the hybrid power unit formula in 2014 lost Red Bull their previous dominance of F1 and paved the way for the Mercedes era. It took a long time for Red Bull to regain their status as F1’s top team but that era is now firmly in place as Max Verstappen chases his third consecutive world title…

2014年，混動動力單元的出現(xiàn)終結(jié)了紅牛先前對F1的統(tǒng)治，同時(shí)為梅奔時(shí)代鋪平了道路。紅牛花了很長時(shí)間才重拾F1霸主地位，但隨著維斯塔潘開始追求三連冠，又一個(gè)屬于紅牛時(shí)代已穩(wěn)穩(wěn)到來……

The team’s previous era of domination – when Sebastian Vettel scored four consecutive titles – was based upon a landmark design, the RB5 of 2009. Although that car lost out to Brawn GP for title honours that year, it set the template for F1 design for the next four years. It also established Red Bull as a top team for the first time in their short history.

上一個(gè)紅牛王朝中，歪頭連奪四冠。而這一切都基于一款里程碑式的賽車——2009年的RB5。盡管在那年冠軍爭奪戰(zhàn)上負(fù)于布朗GP，她卻為之后四年F1的賽車設(shè)計(jì)確立了樣板。不僅如此，她也令年輕的紅牛首次躋身頂級車隊(duì)之列。

The title-winning cars which formed F1’s first Red Bull era each had their own crucial technology advantages over the competition as the regulations were continually tweaked around them. Here we take a look at them.

紅牛第一王朝的每輛功勛賽車都擁有圍場中關(guān)鍵的技術(shù)優(yōu)勢，而規(guī)則也不斷圍繞著他們進(jìn)行調(diào)整。本文將就此展開論述。

2009賽季——RB5

17場大獎(jiǎng)賽/6勝/16臺/5桿

All-new regulations for 2009 attempted to limit downforce, stipulating (among other things) a lower diffuser angle. This big regulation change allowed Red Bull’s design guru, Adrian Newey, the opportunity to fundamentally re-evaluate, wiping away the accumulated advantages of the bigger Ferrari and McLaren teams.

2009年的全新規(guī)則試圖限制賽車下壓力，其中一條規(guī)定降低擴(kuò)散器角度。這項(xiàng)重大技術(shù)調(diào)整讓紅牛的技術(shù)大神紐維有機(jī)會從根本上重新評估，試著抹平窩法和邁隊(duì)這種大車隊(duì)積累的優(yōu)勢。

Newey re-introduced a feature not seen in F1 for years – pull rod activation of the rear suspension. This moved the suspension rockers from the top to the bottom, exploiting more fully the space available for the newly-restricted diffuser. It allowed the gearbox to be lowered and exposed the upper wishbone, which could be given an aerodynamic profile that linked to the beam wing.

紐維重新引入了一項(xiàng)圍場久未出現(xiàn)的設(shè)計(jì)——后懸掛拉桿。他通過將懸掛搖臂從上端移到下端，更充分地利用了規(guī)則限制后擴(kuò)散器的可用空間。這項(xiàng)設(shè)計(jì)使變速箱位置得以降低，還暴露了出上方的叉骨。后者被賦予了與梁翼(beam wing)相連的空氣動力學(xué)輪廓。

The coke bottle profile of the lower bodywork widened out at the top like a fishtail, manipulating the air pressure to accelerate the airflow over the top of the diffuser, causing it to work harder. The nose was high at its tip, creating a big volume beneath to feed the underfloor.

在車體下部，可樂瓶輪廓頂部拓寬，像魚尾一樣。這降低了氣壓，加快了流經(jīng)擴(kuò)散器頂部的氣體流速，使其工作效率更高。

That nose was U-profiled in section, reducing the frontal area of the car with the corner points respecting the dimensional requirements. This combination became the generic F1 car of the next few years, but in 2009, it made the RB5 stand out visually.

賽車鼻椎頂端較高，在下方創(chuàng)造了很大空間，方便氣體向下流向底板。鼻椎呈U字型，減小了賽車前端空間；鼻椎轉(zhuǎn)角處也符合尺寸要求。這兩種設(shè)計(jì)的組合在接下來幾年成為了F1賽車的標(biāo)配，但在2009年， 如此鼻椎外觀令RB5與眾不同。

However, Red Bull missed the double diffuser trick exploited by Brawn, whereby an extra diffuser chamber above the standard one was created by a slot gap in the underbody. Red Bull later added this and a better version was then made for Silverstone, with the rear axle moved further back (and the front axle, too, to retain the same wheelbase) to create a bigger diffuser area.

不過，紅牛最初并未像布朗GP發(fā)現(xiàn)并利用雙層擴(kuò)散器的規(guī)則漏洞。后者通過車底的一個(gè)槽隙在原有擴(kuò)散器的上面新創(chuàng)造了一層額外的擴(kuò)散器。賽季中期，紅牛也設(shè)計(jì)出自己的雙層擴(kuò)散器，并在銀石站做出了一個(gè)更優(yōu)的版本。他們將后軸后移得更遠(yuǎn)，為擴(kuò)散器創(chuàng)造了更大區(qū)域。而為了保持軸距不變，車的前軸也做了同樣的改變。

2010賽季——RB6

19場大獎(jiǎng)賽/9勝/20臺/15桿/車手車隊(duì)年度雙冠

The design aim of the 2010 car was all about maximising the area of the twin diffuser – so there was a new longer gearbox casing, increasing the area available for the diffuser.

2010年，賽車的設(shè)計(jì)目標(biāo)集中于最大化雙層擴(kuò)散器的工作區(qū)域——因此車隊(duì)研發(fā)了新的更長的變速箱外殼，這增加了擴(kuò)散器的可工作范圍。

Red Bull created a huge inlet to the upper diffuser by making an extreme angle on the forward lower wishbone (which had the effect of making any bodywork invisible when viewed through the slot from below and therefore legal), with the beam wing acting as an extractor.

紅牛把前下叉骨的角度設(shè)計(jì)得十分極端，從而創(chuàng)造出一個(gè)巨大的通向上層擴(kuò)散器的入口。（另外，當(dāng)從下面的槽里看時(shí)，這種設(shè)計(jì)還能使任何車身都不可見，因此是合規(guī)的。）與此同時(shí)，梁翼充當(dāng)抽氣功能。

The monocoque?became even more V-shaped and thus created more airflow to feed the underbody. A step-up mechanism?moved the gearbox up out of the way to create yet more airflow volume in the upper diffuser.

單體殼結(jié)構(gòu)變得更加傾斜，形成V字型。這也創(chuàng)造出更多氣流通向車底。變速箱上移，在上層擴(kuò)散器創(chuàng)造出更多氣流流量。

This all made the advantages of an exhaust-blown diffuser (which had been used in F1 on and off?since 1983) greater. In this way Newey amplified?the RB6’s aerodynamic superiority. The exhaust exited into the side of the upper diffuser, keeping it invisible from below and therefore in compliance with the regs.

以上種種設(shè)計(jì)都使吹氣擴(kuò)散器（這項(xiàng)技術(shù)自從1983年來在圍場中時(shí)而出現(xiàn)）的優(yōu)勢越發(fā)明顯。通過這項(xiàng)設(shè)計(jì)，紐維擴(kuò)大了RB6的氣動優(yōu)勢。廢氣排出后流經(jīng)上層擴(kuò)散器的側(cè)面，使廢氣從下面無法看見，進(jìn)而符合規(guī)定。

Late season, Renault Sport provided more intricate software?to keep the exhaust gases flowing to the diffuser even when off throttle. The exhaust flow allowed a lot of downforce to be retained?even at the high rear ride heights seen at low speed. As such, it enabled Red Bull to develop the car’s aerodynamics around a high rake angle.

賽季后期，雷諾為紅牛提供了更多復(fù)雜軟件。這樣一來，車輛就算熄火，廢氣也能源源不斷流進(jìn)擴(kuò)散器。廢氣流使大量下壓力得以被保留，即使是在低速狀態(tài)，后輪行駛高度很高時(shí)亦為如此。因此，紅牛得以在高前傾角狀態(tài)下研發(fā)汽車的空氣動力學(xué)。

（PS：前傾角越高，可以使底板前部產(chǎn)生更大下壓力，但相應(yīng)后部下壓力有所缺失。而紅牛通過吹氣擴(kuò)散器保證了賽車后部下壓力，因此可以采用更極端的設(shè)計(jì)。）

As well as giving the floor its own diffuser effect, it allowed the front wing to run in ground effect and therefore be much more efficient. This was all facilitated?by the first use of FRICS (front-rear interconnected suspension) introduced on the car in Malaysia early in the season. The various changes combined to maximise the effect of an exhaust-blown diffuser.

這除了使底板獲得自己的擴(kuò)散器效果，還使得前翼能在地面效應(yīng)中運(yùn)行，進(jìn)而提高工作效率。一切都得益于FRICS系統(tǒng)的首次使用。該系統(tǒng)全稱前后懸掛互聯(lián)系統(tǒng)，在馬來西亞大獎(jiǎng)賽初次亮相。

（PS:該系統(tǒng)利用液壓方式連接前后懸掛，從而幫助賽車更好維持平衡，輔助入彎。于2014年普及，但當(dāng)年被禁）

The various changes combined to maximise the effect of an exhaust-blown diffuser.

各種變化有機(jī)結(jié)合，最大化了吹氣擴(kuò)散器的工作效率。

（未完待續(xù)……）

摘自F1官網(wǎng)

翻譯：mrysdy