F1 Engineer Breaks Myth About Red Bull Using AlphaTauri Wind Tunnel Time After “Draconian” FIA Penalty

Dan, the former Red Bull engineer, snubbed the rumor that Red Bull used AlphaTauri’s tunnel time to maximize their advantage. The engineer also claimed that this isn’t the reason why AlphaTauri is slow. This comes after gossip came out that the defending champions have used its sister team’s tunnel time after the harsh FIA penalty.

During the EngineBraking podcast, the engineer said AlphaTauri indeed uses the Red Bull wind tunnel. But that doesn’t mean they take away the Italian team’s time allotted for their own development.

Talking about this, Dan said the Austrian team built a wall in the wind tunnel facility after its sister team arrived. The Faenza-based team arrived at the Bulls facility in 2021 after parting ways with the Bicester testing facility.

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So the new season is days away and I have a bunch of new followers.

You probably already know this but if not:

I’m Dan, I’m 34 and from Stevenage, I spent 6 years at RBR as a senior systems engineer before leaving at the end of 2021 pic.twitter.com/v5u1lOQj2p

— Dan – EngineMode11 (@EngineMode11) February 27, 2023

Talking about the working process, he further said one team seats on one side of the tunnel, while the other seats on the other. Moreover, he also stated that when a team works in the facility, not a single staff from the other team is allowed in the building and vice versa.

To top it all, FIA puts in strong checks so that any team doesn’t get to use this to their advantage. Using Aerodynamic Testing Restrictions, teams are kept in check in this regard.

Red Bull and AlphaTauri are entirely different

Dan completely destroyed the myth, saying that the two teams use completely separate systems. Furthermore, the Red Bull-owned teams use all completely different networks where nothing is connected or shared.

Saying it’s not possible to take one team’s time from another, he said that the rumor is just baseless. In reality, things don’t work the way it was being said.

$7m fine for Red Bull plus a 7% deduction to their wind tunnel testing time (10% of their allotted time of 70%) after admitting their guilt in the ABA. #F1. pic.twitter.com/XgnNsRIJ5A

— Jennie Gow (@JennieGow) October 28, 2022

Dan further joked that the only way such things can be done is if the lead engineers from the two teams decide to meet at a car park and discuss their developments. But it’s still doubtful given the vigilance FIA puts in.

If not AlphaTauri tunnel time, what helped Red Bull succeed despite having a penalty?

Given the AlphaTauri tunnel time is out of the question, what else has come to Red Bull’s favor when it comes to having back-to-back success in 2023?

Well, it’s efficiency and determination according to team principal Christian Horner. The honcho of the defending champions shared that the engineers and the whole team were taken aback by the “draconian” penalty. But they took it on a positive note to build the dominant car.

The Austrian team received a $7 million penalty and a 10% reduction in tunnel time testing. Saying the decrease in the tunnel time has actually helped them to evolve better and be more efficient in the process.