A question for F1 lovers.?

Question

The F1 Engineers concentrate most on the aerodynamics of the car when the wind is blowing straight toward the car,but do they give any aerodynamic design for cross wind or for the wind blowing diagonal to the car.

Because wind does not blow and flow alway on the straight of the streamline shape of the car. In that case the car is no more streamline for the crosswind.

Cross wind do make a huge difference. What would be the amount of reduction of drag when the team gives attention to even cross wind turbulence?

Answer 1

When you drive a car in the open, the car slices through the wind directly in front of it, and so thats the wind the engineers concentrate on. Because of the car's speed and the direction in which it travels, any of type of wind becomes irrelevant, be it cross wind or not.

Moreover, when the consider the potential speed of an F1 car, which is blistering, the wind through which the car passes becomes very important, thus a streamline design is required to maximise downforce and greatly improve acceleration.


i hope this answers your question well

Answer 2

As Renaultfan pointed out, it's not so much the cross wind that the engineers are concerned with, but the teams are working on what's called "transient aerodynamics" - ie aero when the cars are turning or sliding. Downforce is easy to obtain when you are going in a straight line (add more wing..at the cost of sacrificing straight line speed), but the time when you need it the most is when you are in mid-corner (when you are going considerably slower and therefore not getting as much down force as you would at higher speed). Also, there is a lot of airflow disturbance when you are travelling near another vehicle (side-by-side or behind another). It's an area that is yet to be fully exploited and understood, and, excuse my ignorance if I'm incorrect in saying this, but I think the Walrus nose of 2004 Williams was toying with the idea.

Answer 3

Defeats the other purposes of aerodynamics...

Aerodynamics defines not only the entire shape of the car, but also the positioning of all the items within it like the engine, gearbox and driver. Take the barge boards as an example... not only does it diverts the air thats disrupted from the front tyres but they bring in air to cool the engines. Its not just wind that comes naturally but also the dirty air that comes from the other cars on the track.

Answer 4

Hey - When they do tests in the wind tunnel or out side on track, they do test for winds coming from all directions - that is why the aero package changes from track to track. Also there are distructive wind speeds that is taken in to considerations - say if the wind speed is less than 2 knots it does not effect the car as much !

Answer 5

Because the speed of the car, compared to the speed of the wind, cancels out any effects on the aerodynamic part.

The wind only plays a role in handling, its direction in turns can mean that a car oversteers in a corner and, at the next one, it's understeering. Sometimes, wind pushes the car onto the track, sometimes it pushes it from the side.
It's up to the driver's skill to feel the car in the wind and control it in the corners.

Answer 6

What the HELL are you guys talking about! Crosswind?!! F1 cars run top speeds in excess of 300km/h and average speeds of 200 to 250 depending on the track. At those speeds any cross wind in fair sunny days or even in rainy semi-stormy days are negligible.

Answer 7

Unfortunately cross winds do make a difference. It effects the car's aero balance, braking points and top speed.