RED BULL RESHUFFLES ITS FRONT BULKHEAD
The Red Bull heave element also features a mechanical element: the Belleville washers that were already present on last year’s RB11. Otherwise, the front bulkhead of the car has been given a major reshuffle with the Belleville springs now mounted on the left instead of on the right (see red arrows). The roll damper has been moved the other way around (yellow arrows), while the torsion bars (green arrows) have slightly shifted towards the centre.
Due to sharper pushrod angles, the rockers (blue arrows) have been raised, which forced Red Bull to have a bigger opening in the monocoque in order to attach them. This higher installation makes it harder to fit an ‘S’-duct. Despite having the necessary inlets at the bottom of the chassis, the RB12 is devoid of the system for the moment.
Finally, the steering column has been lowered, with the tie rods now positioned ahead of the lower wishbone (instead of the upper one) like on the Mercedes.
