Red Bull RB6

O Red Bull RB6 foi o carro que levou o jovem alemão Sebastian Vettel ao seu primeiro título mundial, projetado pelo mago Adrian Newey, o bólido tinha surpreendentes soluções aerodinâmicas. O carro venceu nove corridas na temporada de 2010, cinco com Vettel e quatro com o australiano Mark Webber. Excelente kit da Tamiya, escala 1/20. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, held at the Yas Marina Circuit in November 14th, was the final race of the 2010 Formula One season. It was here, at the moment when Sebastian Vettel took the checkered flag, that history was rewritten as he overtook McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton to become the youngest ever Formula One Champion. The car with which Vettel achieved this extraordinary feat, the Red Bull RB6, was considered by many to be an aerodynamic marvel. It was the brainchild of famous Formula One car designer Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing’s Chief Technical Officer, and the mechanics team of Red Bull Racing, and its design was an evolution of the previous year’s RB5. Among its destinguishing features was a V-nose formed by the pronounced edges on the upper surface of the nose and a “shark fin” engine cover, an aerodynamic innovation which was first introduced in the RB4 in 2008. Within this fin was another aerodynamic feature known as the “F-Duct” system. In this system, one duct channeled air from the top of the induction pod to the underside of the rear wing while another would channel air to the rear wing flap. The latter duct was fed from an intake in the side pod but this air would normally pass through a snorkel and into the left side of the cockpit. When the driver blocked this snorkel with their arm, air would be allowed to pass through to the underside of the rear wing flap, which effectively reduced downforce and drag to enable an increase in maximium speed. Another notable feature of the RB6 was its blown, or exhaust driven, diffuser. This device directed high-speed gases from the low-mounted exhaust to pass above the stepped diffuser to help generate a greater amount of downforce. However, the flow of exhaust gases may weaken at low engine RPMs and result in a loss in performance. To prevent this, the engine’s fuel injection and ignition timing were precisely controlled to ensure that the flow of high-speed exhaust gases was always constant. In addition, the RB6 incorporated a pull rod rear suspension system in which the dampers and springs were mounted low and inside the gearbox to be flat, which had the effect of providing cleaner airflow to the rear of the car. The gearbox itself was also positioned several centimeters higher compared to the RB5 in order to secure unimpeded air channels for the diffuser. As with the previous year, power come from a Renault RS27 2,400cc V8 engine. This formidable RB6 enabled Vettel and his teammate Mark Webber to claim five and four GP wins respectively, although the season was certainly not smooth sailing for them. In fact, the competition was fierce and four drivers entered the season finale with a chance to claim the Driver’s Championship. 2006 World Champion Fernando Alonso of Ferrari led the overall standings, with Vettel in third place and needing to win the race as well as hope that Alonso would finish in fifth place or lower in order to be crowned as the Champion. Starting from pole position, Vettel remained calm through the chaotic race, which included a safety car deployment on the opening lap, and took the checkered flag. Remarkably, Alonso was only able to finish in seventh place, which allowed Vettel to complete his miraculous comeback to claim the first Formula One title for himself and Red Bull Racing. Nice kit from Tamiya, 1/20th scale as usual.