The Red Bull car was on pole in 18 out of the 19 races! Red Bull won the 2011 constructor’s championship with 12 victories.
BHPian Omkar recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
In the days leading up to the Red Bull showrun on 12th March, in Mumbai, Red Bull India invited us to have a look at the 2011 Red Bull RB7 championship-winning car. The car was on display at the Super Car Club Garage in Thane and Red Bull mechanics fired up the sweet V8 engine reminding all the F1 fans about what they were missing in this hybrid V6 era.
The RB7 will be driven by David Coulthard this Sunday, 12th March on Bandra Bandstand. If you want more information on the show run, you can check their official website.
What makes the RB7 so special?
The year 2011 saw a few changes in the rules where Pirelli became the sole tyre partner after Bridgestone pulled out. Another important change was the introduction of the adjustable rear wing or drag reduction system (DRS). The year also saw the return of KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) to Formula 1. Red Bull was defending their first title victory in 2010 and the 2011 season was critical for them. The RB7 was an evolution of the RB6 and they dominated the 2011 season. The Red Bull car was on pole in 18 out of the 19 races! Red Bull won the 2011 constructor’s championship with 12 victories.
The car has a carbon-fibre composite monocoque chassis and weighs roughly 640 kg. It is powered by a Renault RS27 90-degree naturally aspirated V8 engine putting out close to 750 hp:
Sebastian Vettel had named his RB7 as ‘Kinky Kylie’:
See the large opening in the rear bodywork? This was the initial design that Red Bull ran during the testing. The car had a different design with a smaller outlet during the race:
A look at the front wing of the RB7. This was a controversial topic during the 2011 season where Red Bull’s front wing was flexing more than everyone else’s which gave them an advantage at high speeds. Despite the controversy and objections from rival teams, Red Bull passed FIA’s test. This led to the rival teams trying to develop similar solutions:
Mid-season, a new nose and front wing design was introduced with modifications to the under-nose fins:
The black slot in the middle lets in the air toward the driver’s feet:
A look at the air intake:
The Red Bull team disassembled the car and fired up the engine for the spectators:
A look at the disassembled car:
Up front, you have double wishbones, push-rod actuated torsion bar springs:
Engineers checking the temperature and pressure readings before firing up the engine:
Here’s a video of the revving engine. The mobile microphone doesn’t do justice to the sound of that screaming V8 engine. Max RPM? 18,000!
These fan assemblies in the air ducts are exclusive to show-run cars. Since these cars have to idle for long times at events, these fans keep the air flowing into the engine:
The RB7 ran a floor-mounted exhaust with a flat top that blew the exhaust gases into the diffuser. See the bit of carbon fibre protrusion below the ‘Siemens’ sticker. That’s where the exhaust is. This also raised a bit of controversy as it added quite a bit of downforce to the car. Even the car’s engine map was altered to make sure that hot exhaust flows through the diffuser even if the driver was off-throttle. Exhaust-blown diffusers weren’t allowed the next year:
Gold foil is used to deflect heat from that exhaust pipe:
At the rear, you have a double wishbone, pull-rod actuated torsion bar springs:
A look at the adjustable rear wing:
Note how the rear wing extends all the way down to the diffuser:
This is what the engineers use to start the starter motor which cranks the engine:
One of the engineers was explaining some of the basic functions of the steering wheel:
A look at the rear where the paddle shifters and the clutch are placed:
Engineers were monitoring the pressures and temperatures closely:
Emergency fire extinguisher button in the cockpit. Also, note the badge on the top. This was the RB7-04 chassis which was primarily driven by Mark Weber:
Noise-cancelling headgear is a must when you are spending so much time around the screaming V8:
If you’re wondering what’s happening here, the engineer is just…
… making sure that the lemon and chillies will keep the bad omens away from the RB7 on Indian roads:
Here’s a fun video from Carwow where they pit the Bugatti Chiron against the RB7
Also on display was a replica of the 2018 Red Bull car:
This is just a display car and there’s no engine in it:
Keyword: A close look at the RB7 F1 car from Red Bull's show-run in Mumbai