While F1 plans to limit aerodynamic development to CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) from 2030 onwards, three teams on the grid are already planning to build a new wind tunnel, with Red Bull Racing the latest team to green light what is one of the biggest undertakings a team can invest in.
While McLaren and Aston Martin have already begun construction of their new wind tunnels, planned to be operational by spring 2023 at the latest, Red Bull Racing, is also planning to start work on a brand new wind tunnel at its Milton Keynes campus in the UK, as Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko confirmed to AMUS: “We are in the homologation phase,” the Austrian was quoted as saying.
Red Bull’s Milton Keynes campus would become a small city within a city, with the wind tunnel, production, simulator and engine production plant (Red Bull Powertrains) all under one roof. A far cry from its early days under the Jaguar and Stewart team names.
The cost of building the new wind tunnel is estimated at between €50 and €75 million; an expensive undertaking. However, in an era of capped budgets since Formula 1 will no longer allow wind tunnels from the 2030 season so the race is on for teams to get theirs made before that date.
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