【技术回眸】红牛第一王朝（1）：起源

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，混动动力单元的出现终结了红牛先前对F1的统治，同时为梅奔时代铺平了道路。红牛花了很长时间才重拾F1霸主地位，但随着维斯塔潘开始追求三连冠，又一个属于红牛时代已稳稳到来……

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.

上一个红牛王朝中，歪头连夺四冠。而这一切都基于一款里程碑式的赛车——2009年的RB5。尽管在那年冠军争夺战上负于布朗GP，她却为之后四年F1的赛车设计确立了样板。不仅如此，她也令年轻的红牛首次跻身顶级车队之列。

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.

红牛第一王朝的每辆功勋赛车都拥有围场中关键的技术优势，而规则也不断围绕着他们进行调整。本文将就此展开论述。

2009赛季——RB5

17场大奖赛/6胜/16台/5杆

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年的全新规则试图限制赛车下压力，其中一条规定降低扩散器角度。这项重大技术调整让红牛的技术大神纽维有机会从根本上重新评估，试着抹平窝法和迈队这种大车队积累的优势。

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.

纽维重新引入了一项围场久未出现的设计——后悬挂拉杆。他通过将悬挂摇臂从上端移到下端，更充分地利用了规则限制后扩散器的可用空间。这项设计使变速箱位置得以降低，还暴露了出上方的叉骨。后者被赋予了与梁翼(beam wing)相连的空气动力学轮廓。

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.

在车体下部，可乐瓶轮廓顶部拓宽，像鱼尾一样。这降低了气压，加快了流经扩散器顶部的气体流速，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.

赛车鼻椎顶端较高，在下方创造了很大空间，方便气体向下流向底板。鼻椎呈U字型，减小了赛车前端空间；鼻椎转角处也符合尺寸要求。这两种设计的组合在接下来几年成为了F1赛车的标配，但在2009年， 如此鼻椎外观令RB5与众不同。

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.

不过，红牛最初并未像布朗GP发现并利用双层扩散器的规则漏洞。后者通过车底的一个槽隙在原有扩散器的上面新创造了一层额外的扩散器。赛季中期，红牛也设计出自己的双层扩散器，并在银石站做出了一个更优的版本。他们将后轴后移得更远，为扩散器创造了更大区域。而为了保持轴距不变，车的前轴也做了同样的改变。

2010赛季——RB6

19场大奖赛/9胜/20台/15杆/车手车队年度双冠

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，赛车的设计目标集中于最大化双层扩散器的工作区域——因此车队研发了新的更长的变速箱外壳，这增加了扩散器的可工作范围。

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.

红牛把前下叉骨的角度设计得十分极端，从而创造出一个巨大的通向上层扩散器的入口。（另外，当从下面的槽里看时，这种设计还能使任何车身都不可见，因此是合规的。）与此同时，梁翼充当抽气功能。

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.

单体壳结构变得更加倾斜，形成V字型。这也创造出更多气流通向车底。变速箱上移，在上层扩散器创造出更多气流流量。

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.

以上种种设计都使吹气扩散器（这项技术自从1983年来在围场中时而出现）的优势越发明显。通过这项设计，纽维扩大了RB6的气动优势。废气排出后流经上层扩散器的侧面，使废气从下面无法看见，进而符合规定。

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.

赛季后期，雷诺为红牛提供了更多复杂软件。这样一来，车辆就算熄火，废气也能源源不断流进扩散器。废气流使大量下压力得以被保留，即使是在低速状态，后轮行驶高度很高时亦为如此。因此，红牛得以在高前倾角状态下研发汽车的空气动力学。

（PS：前倾角越高，可以使底板前部产生更大下压力，但相应后部下压力有所缺失。而红牛通过吹气扩散器保证了赛车后部下压力，因此可以采用更极端的设计。）

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.

这除了使底板获得自己的扩散器效果，还使得前翼能在地面效应中运行，进而提高工作效率。一切都得益于FRICS系统的首次使用。该系统全称前后悬挂互联系统，在马来西亚大奖赛初次亮相。

（PS:该系统利用液压方式连接前后悬挂，从而帮助赛车更好维持平衡，辅助入弯。于2014年普及，但当年被禁）

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

各种变化有机结合，最大化了吹气扩散器的工作效率。

（未完待续……）

摘自F1官网

翻译：mrysdy