How uncovered is Purple Bull’s F1 marketing campaign to its kerb and bump weak point?

After the challenges of Miami, Imola and Monaco the place the clear weak point of the RB20 in coping with bumps and kerbs was made evident, it’s little marvel that the world champion has frolicked in Purple Bull’s simulator because the final race attempting to work by way of issues forward of what might be one other robust outing.

The important thing to a fast lap across the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is to smash it throughout the kerbs – particularly on the high-speed chicanes. However, as Purple Bull has discovered to its value just lately, that is one thing that its 2024 F1 automotive doesn’t particularly like.

Purple Bull has not but supplied a transparent clarification for simply why it’s struggling a lot on kerbs and bumps, however the very best educated guess to this point is that it’s a consequence of the group having been so aggressive with its aero developments that it has maybe cornered itself in with its set-up window on the subject of needing mechanical compromises.

Few have any doubts that the RB20 nonetheless has a transparent edge over the opposition on a billiard-smooth monitor that has excessive aero calls for and requires a automotive to take care of its rear tyres. It’s exhausting to think about anybody apart from Purple Bull dominating the Spanish Grand Prix later this month, for instance.

However not all tracks are like that, and it seems that when Purple Bull must carry the automotive up a bit to compensate for bumps and kerbs, then it falls out of its ultimate set-up window.

However how a lot alternative is there in actuality, primarily based on the best way the remainder of the season shapes up?

How the calendar shakes out

If we take a look at the remaining races, it’s potential to group the tracks into these venues that might be tougher for Purple Bull as a result of they require good low-speed efficiency, both due to the character of the corners or the presence of bumps/kerbs.

Equally, there are some venues the place the RB20’s aerodynamic benefit will come into its personal and depart McLaren and Ferrari with little hope of the win.

And apparently, the cut up appears fairly equal.

These venues the place Purple Bull’s weak point might be uncovered due to bumps or kerb driving are Canada, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Azerbaijan, Singapore, Brazil, and Las Vegas.

On the flip aspect, the races that ought to pose little downside as a result of they’re at high-speed venues or {smooth} surfaces are Spain, Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, the US, Mexico, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Discovering solutions

However there’s a enormous caveat to all of the above, and it’s that the listing is barely related if Purple Bull doesn’t shortly come to grasp what has been inflicting its downside and transfer to deal with it.

Imola and Monaco particularly got here on the group so quick that there was no time to reply, however there was some respiratory area since to raised comprehend issues.

And there shall be a bunch of alternatives for Purple Bull to do issues in a different way – simply because it reworked its automotive from the Friday to the Saturday of Imola – and masks any downside space that has surfaced. And that’s ignoring the potential for upgrades which can be already coming by way of the system.

As Purple Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan stated: “Every circuit presents us with a set of challenges. We simply have to show up and deal with them higher than all people else.

“If we obtain our lap time a bit bit in a different way to our nearest opposition, then wonderful, that’s our selection, is not it?

“In the event you put a much bigger wing on, you settle for being barely slower on the straight, however you anticipate to be barely higher within the corners and also you make your commerce. That then units your entrance wing calls for, it’ll affect your journey heights.”

However equally, regardless of plotting a means out of the issues it has confronted just lately, Purple Bull is aware of that the stress from its rivals will not be going to go away.

As Monaghan defined: “The others are on us. It will be a decent struggle all the best way.”