What has happened with Red Bull’s rear wing in Las Vegas?

Red Bull has found itself on the back foot at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with the rear wing it is running proving to be much draggier than what its rivals have on board.

In a bid to help Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez attack the long straights, Red Bull arrived in Las Vegas with a trimmed rear and beam wing arrangement rather than designing a bespoke solution specifically for this track.

This lowest drag arrangement is similar to what it took to Monza, but it has been a bit more aggressive this time around in trimming away more of the flap (yellow dotted line, for comparison). It wasn’t enough though, as the team found itself up to 7km/h down on its rivals in some of the speed traps during FP1.

In response to this deficit, it cut away more of the upper flap’s trailing edge in a bid to get rid of as much drag as possible.

This can be seen in the image below, as one of the mechanics cuts away the carbon fibre along a guide line that’s been drawn on the element, whilst another vacuums up the debris.

This not only removes material from the existing crescent shaped cutout, but it also extends into and removes the central V groove that was present before, leaving very little material around the DRS anchor point.

Beyond the main rear wing, there is just a single element beam wing installed on the RB20, which has also been trimmed significantly along the trailing edge. This leaves just a jagged full chord section in the central section to frame the exhaust’s tailpipe.

Red Bull also has a revised front wing layout in Las Vegas, with flaps that feature less camber and chord length, to help balance the downforce level, front-to-rear.

However, what does seem odd in its aerodynamic set-up is that it has opted for what has been attributed as its higher downforce engine cover variant.

Introduced at the Hungarian Grand Prix (above, left) the solution is much more tapered at the rear of the car when compared with the unique cooling inlet and high-haunched arrangement that the RB20 used throughout the opening phase of 2024 (above, right).
 
Red Bull fitted the RB20 with its older specification layout at both the Italian and Azerbaijan Grands Prix, making it what many assumed as a shoo-in for a return in Las Vegas. However, it hasn’t appeared as of yet. 

Red Bull Racing RB20 sidepods detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Red Bull has also introduced a non-circuit specific fence update in Las Vegas, with the team continuing to search for additional performance from the RB20, even in this latter stage of the season.

It is a design feature we have seen some of its rivals use in the past, with the second inboard floor fence now raised above the floor’s tideline and angled to ensure it sheds a vortex from its surface that will help flow across the upper surface of the floor.

The overall shape of the fence below the tideline has been altered too, with a much squarer leading edge than was previously employed in the outgoing design.