Aero

Aerodynamics have become the single most important area of development in F1. Sometime back in the last 60's, some race cars started having trouble staying on the ground. The typical car is flat on the bottom and arched on top, which is similar in profile to a wing. This shape generates lift, which is a bad thing for a race car.

Thus the idea of using an inverted wing was conceived, using the air to push the car down onto the track. Not only does this counteract lift, but it creates downforce which increases the traction of the tires. A modern F1 car generates so much downforce that it could drive upside down at only 60mph!

The first car to sport an inverted wing was Jim Hall's Chapparal 2E (at right) racing in Can-Am series. In F1 a year later, Colin Chapman of Lotus introduced the 49b which had small front winglets and a flat tail. One race later the car had a huge wing on the back; the Lotus took pole by nearly 4 seconds!






The Lotus before and after aero development:


F1 cars generate downforce in numerous ways. The most important are the front and rear wings. The rules limit how wide these can be, and only the front wing can be adjusted during the race. Wings cannot be designed to move. Most teams will develop specific front and rear wings for every track during the year to meet the downforce requirements of that track. Increasing downforce increases drag, which decreases top speed. Teams try to find the right balance of top speed and downforce to give the best lap time for a given circuit.

The cars also generate downforce through ground effects. By running the car as low as possible, the air beneath the car creates a low-pressure area that effectively sucks the car down towards the track. The rear of the car features guides called 'diffusers' that accelerate the air under the car out the back, preserving the low pressure under the car.

There is not a minimum ride height, however all of the cars have a 'skid plank' underneath that runs the length of the car. You can see the plank on Robert Kubica's airborne car. If this plank wears more than 1mm by the end of the race, the car is disqualified. This means that the teams must adjust their suspension to avoid bottoming out under heavy downforce.

The effect of aerodynamics influences the design of almost every part of the car. Current cars feature high noses, which allows the front wing to run the entire width of the car, and avoids upsetting air that will pass underneath the car. The designs of the transmission, suspension, exhaust, and radiators are all made with aero packaging as a top priority. The suspension members are tear-dropped shaped in profile to better cut through the air.

The cars are also sensitive to lateral air movement. A change in wind direction can affect how the car performs on the track. Also, the car is almost always changing direction, meaning the air is flowing at an angle over the surfaces. Teams work very hard to design aero elements that can utilize this airflow to make good downforce.

Aerodynamics tends to be very complicated and hard to model, which leads to lots of wind tunnel testing. All of the top teams have their own wind tunnels, and generally run them 24/7 during the season. Every tweak to an aero surface requires re-evaluation of the entire aero package. Its not unusual for every bodywork component of the car to change three or four times during the season. Unfortunately, this also means that smaller budget teams lack the resources to compete in aero development.