The Aerodynamics of a Formula 1 Car
Formula 1 is a very exciting sport. It has fans all around the world, and besides the diehard ones, probably not a lot of fans know just how much science, technology and engineering goes into creating a Formula 1 car. The aerodynamics that factor into a car's design are mind boggling alone, from design elements such as wings, to the car itself. Just how well the car's aerodynamics help it stick to the ground is a major factor in the sport.
Formula 1 is a sport that is all about making a car go as fast as possible and making it grip with the road through corners. The thinking behind this is that the lower a car is to the ground the less air will move under it and the car will thus be able to move faster and turn quicker. In a sport where even a tenth of a second could mean the difference between winning and losing, everything that can be done to make a car go faster will be done. Now that Ferrari's dominance of the sport is over and other race teams have stepped up to take the throne, all of the cars being designed have their focus on aerodynamics.
A modern Formula 1 race car is equipped with two wings; one in the front and one in the back. Because of this fact it has more in common with a fighter jet than it does with an average car. While the wings on a jet enable it to take off and fly through the air, the wings on an F1 car are placed in reverse, as they help the car stick to the ground. Whereas a lot of air underneath the wings creates lift, air travels above the F1 car's wings creating down-force and pushing the car to the tarmac, (Dorneanu, L., 2007). There is so much down-force produced when a Formula 1 car is moving at high speeds that theoretically an F1 car could even be driven upside down on the roof of a tunnel. Due to the fact that the car sticks to the road, it will not fall because there will be too much air pushing it to stick to the roof. Now that would be a great experiment to try.
The science of aerodynamics is so important these days that almost every team that operates in Formula 1 owns a wind tunnel and the ones that do not, rent them out. It is so important to tune the aerodynamics of the car just right that teams have bought or built wind tunnels which can cost in excess of $50 million each, (Spurgeon, B., 2010). This one piece of equipment separates the teams at the front of the grid from the lonely ones at the back. The science behind wind tunnels is that wind is passed over a car at a certain speed and the car is tested to see how it reacts. The wind represents the speed at which the car would be going and engineers and scientists measure factors such as movement in the car and just how much downforce is being produced. These calculations are then fed into computers and tiny adjustments are made on the cars to give them that little bit of extra speed and acceleration.
In the 1970s engineers at Lotus figured out that the entire Formula 1 car could be used as a down-force producing element. Essentially the car itself would become another wing to create even more down-force. By removing all the air from underneath a car, they were able to create a suction effect that glued the car to the track, (Harris, W., 2010). This practice was soon outlawed and regulations were put in place that stopped this practice, but engineers were allowed to create a funnel effect towards the rear of the car and create somewhat of a suction effect similar to the Lotus engineers.
The science behind a Formula 1 race is fascinating. Even though the race itself is a breathtaking sport to follow, fans should give a thought to all those diligent engineers working behind the scenes to create a winning effect with their tinkering. It takes a lot of people and a lot of science and technology to create one exciting and fantastic day of racing for the fans. Most of them do not really care how much down-force a car produces, but they do care when their favorite team wins and that is when they should thank the engineers who keep creating magic with aerodynamics.
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