With Red Bull being the pace setters for the last two seasons, it comes as no surprise that the RB8 is an evolution of previous design philosophy. Starting with the RB5 in 2009, which set the benchmark for modern F1 design, Red Bull have simply refined their cars year after year enabling them to extract the most performance from their cars. The new RB8 is more of an evolution of the RB5 rather than the RB7.

At first glance, there are no major changes to the layout of the car, the only major talking point is the stepped nose, as with most other cars launched this season.

Although there was much talk about the stepped nose, there was more buzz surrounding the letterbox opening at the step. When asked, Adrian Newey simply implied that it’s for cooling the driver, but that’s just to keep the media happy. In my opinion, it serves to keep the airflow attached over the step. Rather than an awkward step like the F2012, Newey has kept to his ‘V’ nose, which is formed by the two ridges ahead of the slot in the nose, making for a more elegant solution.

Over recent years we’ve come to expect tight, compact sidepods from the Red Bull design team and the RB8 continues this. As can be seen, the sidepods are fairly undercut, which quickly taper down and inwards towards the coke bottle area. They are very reminiscent of the RB7.

Front suspension is the conventional push-rod , carried over from the RB7. New turning vanes under the nose along with a new splitter / T-tray.

Pull-rod rear suspension has been maintained with the rod slightly smaller than last year and also notice the rake, which is also carried over from last season. It will be interesting to see whether they continue to run this amount of rake during the season without the full EBD (Exhaust-Blown-Diffuser).

On the launch of the car the exhaust position was quite similar to what Red Bull ran on the RB5, placing the exits just under the upper rear wishbones. As I mentioned on Twitter, the layout looked like a temporary solution. Sure enough, on the penultimate day of testing, a new layout was introduced…

The above being the new layout, replicating the McLaren & Sauber channelled solutions. This is based on the Coanda effect, which in simple terms means flow attached to a surface, directing it where you need it to go. In this instance, the flow is directed towards the outer edges of the diffuser, effectively maintaining an EBD.

On closer inspection, it is clear what Adrian Newey is trying to achieve. The exhaust has been pushed further forward, with a bridge section created underneath. This means the cold airflow (blue) around the sidepod goes under the bridge and exits under the pull-rod which then feeds the starter hole. Simultaneously, the downwash of the sidepod is directing the exhaust gases (orange) to the outer edge of the diffuser. At high velocity, the gases are also being directed towards the starter hole. A revised version of this exhaust was introduced in Melbourne, featuring McLaren-esque channels. This is a unique solution which is pushing the limits of the technical regulations.

This is the larger-than-normal starter hole which is being fed air from the flow around the sidepods and also the exhaust gases.

The RB8 has the most developed and sculpted rear. The diffuser features a full length gurney which has been carried over from the RB7. The 12cm inboard of the rear tyres feature large brake duct fins, which Red Bull are exploiting more than any other team in a bid to gain more downforce directly at the wheels. The cannon exit (engine cover outlet) has also stayed, albeit smaller than the previous RB7.

I expect Red Bull to be very competitive but they never showed their true pace during testing, only concentrating on high fuel runs, which looked right on par with McLaren. Questions remain regarding their qualifying pace after they underperformed in Melbourne, but this to me is down to refining their new exhaust solution. Once the exhaust is performing to expectation, it will be a development race to see who can extract the most speed from their cars.