Gary Anderson on the design features of the VCARB 01

Gary Anderson, former race car designer and now technical expert for The Race, analyzed the key features of the team’s new car, which from this year has a new name: Visa Cash App RB. Abbreviated as VCARB. It is also suggested to call it Racing Bulls.

The second team, owned by Red Bull, has undergone another identity change and this is the third name since the Austrian company took over Minardi. But behind the new appearance and change of sign lies the clear intention to take a step forward and influence their fate to a greater extent.

For 2024, the Faenza team’s ties with Red Bull Racing have become even closer and are increasingly using parts and components produced in Milton Keynes – where permitted by regulations. Racing Bulls are represented by two experienced drivers: Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo, who plan to fight for podium places, and if they are lucky, even victories.

But to do this they need a car that will really unleash their talents, so let’s take a closer look at what we were shown during the presentation. But this attempt at analysis must be treated with reservations, as I can only comment on what we could see now, and the team will only bring the real car to Bahrain.

Computer renderings can only give a limited idea of ​​the car, but if it is even roughly comparable to the one presented in Las Vegas, then we have to admit that the VCARB 01 makes a very decent impression, it really is a step forward.

Let’s start with the front part: the airflow around the nose cone is shaped very differently than, for example, in an Alpine car with its rather thick nose. Apparently, the current flowing over the fairing then diverges along the sides of the VCARB 01 and rushes towards the area that starts between the bodywork and the inside of the tires.

Faenza has switched to a rod-based front suspension, which should come as no surprise as the team now works more closely with Red Bull Racing and makes greater use of chassis components produced in Milton Keynes. This suspension ensures higher aerodynamic efficiency. although this is a compromise where it is more difficult to achieve optimal efficiency in the operation of the vehicle chassis.

The images presented show that the rear mounting point of the upper triangular control arm on the body is noticeably lower than the front. This solution is borrowed from last year’s Red Bull RB19 and suggests that the engineers were trying to prevent the front of the car from bottoming out under heavy braking.

The radiator intakes resemble those of the other three teams’ previously mentioned cars, and it’s no surprise that they all resemble the RB19 as well. But the difference is that on the sides of the side pontoons of VCARB 01 we see a kind of thickening, and their upper surface is quite wide over almost the entire length of the pontoons.

But the underbody edges are already quite noticeably different from those of both other new cars and last year’s AT04. Although I’m not at all sure that this part of the underbody will look the same on the car we’ll see in Bahrain as it did at the presentation. From my point of view it doesn’t seem aggressive enough yet.

The rear suspension is based on pushrods and the front mounting point of the upper control arm is located lower on the gearbox housing than the rear point – therefore this design includes the function of counteracting vertical movements of the suspension during braking. But since the Italian team gets gearboxes and rear suspension components from Red Bull Racing, this is obvious.

Overall, the new VCARB 01 gives the impression of a well thought out and neatly laid out design, which is a good start. But there is no doubt that we will see another version of the chassis already during the pre-season testing in Bahrain, and then there will be much more to say about the design features.