Sebastian Vettel is aware that his competition could be as strong as ever when it comes to defending a second world title. Admitting that Red Bull made best use of its exhaust-blown diffuser last year, the German’s challenge is likely to increase in difficulty as the innovative system is outlawed in the 2012 Formula 1 regulations.
First developed by Red Bull in 2010, exhaust-blown diffuser technology involved hot gases exiting the car’s exhaust and being channelled through its rear diffuser in order to generate significant levels of extra downforce.
“The double diffuser was part of the car’s design from 2010 and in 2011 the exhaust gases system played a crucial role,” Vettel acknowledges. “Some teams managed it better than others. Nevertheless, the top teams are closer together than you think because there were other influences in play like the Pirelli tyres and the setups of the cars.
“Look at Korea: McLaren was unbeatable on the Friday, so on Saturday we went into more detail with the car’s setup – and on Sunday we won because we were better prepared for the race than McLaren were. At Suzuka it was the other way round because we made errors heading towards the race.”
For 2012 all exhaust collectors must point in an upward direction, which itself was a revolutionary concept for normally aspirated cars when first developed by Ferrari in 1998. This technique, which had previously been used on the turbocharged vehicles of the 1980s, is often referred to in F1 circles as ‘periscope style’.
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