Formula One news

Red Bull to introduce new gearbox in Spain

The Red Bull Racing team will introduce their new gearbox with seamless shifting at the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend the team confirmed. Red Bull is one of the few teams who was not using such a system just yet, but after a successful test at Circuit de Catalunya last week the team decided to run it this weekend.

Red Bull's Technical Director Mark Smith explains why the team did not run the new gearbox at the start of the season. "The relatively late confirmation of the switch to Renault power meant we were not up to speed earlier in some areas, so right from the beginning we decided for logistical reasons to target the Barcelona test for the introduction of our transmission development and happily the testing was successful in this respect," says Smith.

Another area that has seen progress on the RB3 is in performance relating to the engine is the car's control systems. "From pre-season testing to the time we got to the first race, we had made a significant step forward in terms of traction control and engine braking strategies," continues Smith. "These evolved with Renault allowing for the fact that the interface between the engine control systems and the chassis control systems take time to develop. You can do some work in the laboratory but there is no substitute for track work, as in this case, the driver is the customer of the system, so it is his perception as to how well it works which drives this forward. There were shortfalls in the operation of those systems and we have made quite good advances now in that area."

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