How Ferraris F1 car got faster without any “upgrades”

       Ferrari’s recent victory in the United states and Mexico have been nothing but a spectacle to see. Their recent rise to form seems to have appeared out of nowhere, however, one little change to the front the wing of the car made all the difference. To understand how this change made such a big difference, we must first understand the concepts of downforce and vortex generators. 

Downforce is caused by high pressure air pushing down on the top of an object due to there being a low-pressure pocket underneath said object. This effect is desirable in a Formula 1 car because the more force that is pushing the car to the ground, the more agile the car will be around corners. Downforce causes the negative effect of drag, slowing the car down. Vortex generators are used to combat drag. They work by introducing turbulence into the body layer of air, this turbulence causes the air to stick body of the car. Front wings are designed to add downforce to the front of the car and create vortices for the airflow. The front wing is splitting the air into multiple streams creating layers of different pressures to indue the downforce effect. Vortex generators are also put on the endplates of the wings to induce the aforementioned vortices. 

Similarly to front wings, rear wings are used to add downforce to the car. F1 cars are designed to force air to the rear wing, where the wing will proceed to split the air into two separate streams, a high pressure stream on top and a low pressure stream on bottom. This results in downforce created at the rear. The vortex generator shown in the picture below, on the front wing,  compares Ferrari’s old design to the new one. This was not classified as an upgrade because as the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of the sport, states “Each Competitor must provide a summary document to the Media Delegate listing the name and brief description of all major aerodynamic and bodywork components and assemblies that have not been run at a previous Competition…”. This change of a vortex generator was initially ran in Singapore as a track specific upgrade. 

After careful consideration they decided to keep the vortex generator on the car, leading to its dominant performance in the US. The reason it made such a big change is because it is much more agrresive. The aggresiveness of the hook  allows for the air coming onto the car to be more agitated causing it to be more firmly stuck to the body. As the air moves along the body, thanks to the in wash design of the F1 cars, more air is forced to the rear wing causing more downforce without a large amount of drag. The Mexican grand prix is held aproximately 1.3 miles above sea level, meaning the air is much thinner. The thinner air only amplified the effect of the vortex generator making their win much more dominant than that in the US.

- Nathan Castello (OJ Engineering Intern) 

References

 fia,. (July 2024),. formula 1 sporting regulations, issue 7.