A closer look at the black art of aerodynamics in Formula One

Aerodynamics is now viewed by Formula 1 teams as the single most important piece of race car design the rules allow them to control. A good aerodynamic setup makes an F1 car slippery in a straight line, maximizes acceleration and top speed, and provides huge amounts of downforce to mash the car’s tyres into the tarmac and add extra grip in the corners. Massive money is spent on tweaking the wings and body shape for that elusive perfect flow of air. Toyota’s Head of Aerodynamics, Mark Gillan, explains further in the second part of Panasonic Toyota Racing’s ‘Inside a Formula 1 Car‘ series.

If you’ve ever stuck your hand out of a car window on the freeway, you’ll understand that as speed increases, the flow of air around the car becomes a significant force to push against. Imagine the strength of that force at a Formula One car’s top track speed of around 360kmh.

First and foremost, aerodynamics is the science of manipulating and making use of air flow. In Formula 1, ferociously high speeds mean the air is a formidable force and it can be used to the car’s advantage.

Put simply, the bigger the frontal area of an object, the more wind resistance it will encounter, so a bigger object will travel slower than a smaller object with the same amount of power to propel it.

As always in Formula 1, things are not that simple. Downforce complicates matters, because wind resistance can be used to improve a car’s performance, if the forces are transferred in the right way to provide extra grip around corners.

Mark Gillan explains: “Downforce is simply the force acting down on the ground. If you think of an aircraft, it has lift - a force acting upwards. On our car we have wings which work in the opposite direction to those on an aeroplane. On our car we have a force which acts down on the ground to keep the car fixed to the track as it is going around corners.”

Downforce is now such an important consideration in an F1 car’s cornering traction that a car that’s closely following another through a corner is severely disadvantaged by being in the leading car’s turbulent wake – although this is made up by the advantage the following car gains by slip-streaming the leader on high-speed straights.

Maximizing the positive effects of the air and minimizing the negative effects is the aerodynamicist’s challenge. The first attempts to harness aerodynamics in Formula 1 were relatively crude and dangerous, but the technology and knowledge has evolved into a fine art, which literally dictates who succeeds and who doesn’t in Formula 1.

“Aerodynamics in Formula 1 has been around a long time,” Mark says. “Way back in the late 1960s the first aerodynamic wings were sprouted and then, in the 1970s, understanding of aerodynamics on racing cars became more apparent. But it’s really in the last 10 years that Formula 1 aerodynamics has progressed beyond all recognition. It is really very impressive.

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