SportsNews

Red Bull ahead of schedule with new F1 wind tunnel

Published

1 year ago

January 3, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Pierre Wache, Technical Director, Red Bull Racing, in the Team Principals Press Conference © Autosport.com

Red Bull has said it is ahead of its initial schedule with the building of its new Formula 1 wind tunnel.

Red Bull Racing currently uses an outdated wind tunnel compared to its main rivals, with its facilities near Bedford being over 70 years old.

The wind tunnel has been labelled “a Cold War relic” by team boss Christian Horner.

While the team has been continually improving the tunnel in order to keep it up to date, its technical personnel sees it as a limitation in the long term.

F1 teams invest heavily in these facilities; McLaren has used Toyota’s wind tunnel in Cologne for years since 2010 but can rely on its own state-of-the-art version since the summer of 2023.

Aston Martin also invested in a modern tunnel, which gets a prominent place in its new Silverstone factory.

The Red Bull company has given the green light to build the new wind tunnel at the Red Bull Campus in Milton Keynes, with the work currently in progress and three months ahead of schedule.

“With the building work and afterwards all the new machines you never know when it’s coming, but we are ahead of the schedule at the moment,” Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache told Autosport.

Pierre Wache, Technical Director, Red Bull Racing, in the Team Principals Press Conference

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“We are three months ahead of the plans.

“The guys are doing a very good job, but you never know if you get any delays somewhere else. It is a big project.”

The new wind tunnel should be operational in 2026, meaning it can be beneficial to Red Bull for its 2027 challenger.

“Or maybe already help us later in the year [2026],” added Wache.

“It is the oldest wind tunnel in the sport. I even discussed it with Jos [Verstappen] the other day, that they already used this tunnel when he was there at Arrows,” Wache said.

“It is an old tool that we updated. There is plenty of newer stuff inside, but we have some limitations. We know those limitations and we try to work around them, but that is clearly more difficult when you are looking for a small delta.

“It is why we invest in the new tunnel We think we can have a benefit from the new one that we don’t have with the current model.”

SportsNews

2026 World Cup: Super Eagles waiting for FIFA’s decision – Iwobi

Published

20 hours ago

February 6, 2026

Ekwutos Blog

Super Eagles playmaker, Alex Iwobi, has admitted they are waiting to see if the team would still play at the 2026 World Cup.

The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, is optimistic of a potential lifeline from FIFA, after it submitted a petition against the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Iwobi was asked by SuperSport if he would rather lift the AFCON 2025 trophy or qualify for the World Cup?

The 29-year-old, who played at the 2018 of the World Cup, replied: “I mean we’re still waiting, well hopefully we can go to the World Cup, but I feel it’s a tough one.

“It’s a tough one because winning AFCON is like… It’s a great legacy, it’s a great thing to have like in your career, a memorable moment.

“But then at the same time, because I’ve been to the World Cup already, a lot of the players haven’t been. They would like to say ‘I want to go to the World Cup,’ so I can’t be selfish and say win the AFCON and for my teammates to not go to the World Cup. So it’s a tough one. I don’t know. I don’t know.”

Politics

PRESIDENT TINUBU CONDOLES WITH SAMUEL CHUKWUEZE OF THE SUPER EAGLES ON THE PASSING OF HIS MOTHER

Published

1 week ago

January 30, 2026

Ekwutos Blog

President Bola Tinubu sends his condolences

to Super Eagles forward Samuel Chukwueze on the passing of his mother.

The President also extends his sympathies to the family and friends of Mrs Sarah Chukwueze, who passed away on Thursday.

President Tinubu mourns with the Chukwueze family and encourages them to find solace in the memory and legacy of their late matriarch.

“The passing of Mrs Chukwueze, the mother of one of our bright football stars, just a few days after the passing of Super Eagles’ captain Wilfred Ndidi’s father, is deeply saddening.

I mourn with them, and I am with them in prayers during this difficult time,” the President says.

President Tinubu prays that God Almighty will grant the departed eternal rest.

Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President
(Information and Strategy)