What is the importance of Aerodynamics in F1 car?

Answer 1

The force required to overcome air resistance varies with the SQUARE of velocity. Therefore, the faster a vehicle travels, the more important aerodynamics become. This is why a vehicle with twice the torque and horsepower of an otherwise identical one may still only achieve a top speed which is a few mph (or kph) faster.

Overcoming air resistance is paramount to a F1 team. At speed, their vehicle's cross-section (the profile it presents to the wind) and coefficient of friction (how "slippery" the design is) become the limiting factors of velocity.

Race cars must also be designed to provide some amount of downforce, which helps to keep the tires firmly attached to the pavement during acceleration, deceleration, and turning. Finding the winning balance between these factors is a great deal of what separates good teams from the rest of the field.

Excellent question!

EDIT -
Matthew G ... they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but one man's imitation is another's plagiarism. Please don't misrepresent my words as your own.

Answer 2

Some of the answers before mine are pretty detailed, technical and insightful. I am not going to deal with laws of physics or high-tech notions here. I will try to explain myself in simple English:

Aerodynamics in a F1 car are fudamental. They are the factor that can improve or limit the overall "package" of a F1 car. In facts, the right setting of the aero-package has vital influence on the performace of all the other parts: The engine, the chassis, the brakes, and the tyres. The right aero set-up can increase the performance of all those other parts, thus making the overall car faster. That is the point - faster! But faster in one part of the track does not necessarily mean faster over an entire lap of a F1 track. That is the clue! You see, these cars don't run just on a straight line like the dragsters. Therefore, aerodynamics are subject to constant change and modifications from track to track to suit the characteristic of each specific track, where in one occasion you may want more straight line speed (so you set the aero with less downforce), or in other situations you may want more downforce when dealing with a series of curves. Etc., etc. Again, I don't want to go too much into details, but you get the point.

Also, F1 regulations change constantly, and those changes apply to the various parts of the car-package. And even if one part is subject to modification, engineers need to review the aerodynamics after that particular change. A minimum difference affects the aero. So there is always evolution in aerodynamics - within the scope of the F1 regulations of the time.

Without good and functional aerodynamics you wouldn't be able to utilize the other parts of the package to their full potential.

Answer 3

To keep it simple Aero is everthing. It is the fine tuning between drag and downforce that determines a cars ultimate pace on track. The amount of friction\grip that a car can generate is proportional to the downward force that is applied. Generally speaking the more downforce you have the greater the drag so it is important to strike the right balance. This is why at Monaco there are very aggresive wing angles where downforce is the ultimate priority and there are very trim wing settings at Monza where top speed is paramount. The effect of Aero developement on Formula 1 can best be seen by lap times. The most Powerful F1 cars ever made were the Turbocharged Renault cars in the mid early eighties. The lap times however are much much slower than the cars today. It has also drastically altered the engine characteristics. F1 cars today have fairly modest Torque compared to the cars of yesteryear because the cornering speeds are so much higher. They also rev a lot higher. F1 cars are about momentum and keeping the pace up. That way you don't have to have the whopping torque to get back up to speed.

Answer 4

Aerodynamics are everything in F1. The cars are designed to have as little forward air resistance as possible while still producing nearly 2,000 lbs of downforce. It's the downforce that pushes the tires into the track surface with far more than just the weight of the vehicle.

So instead of the tires breaking free during acceleration, braking and turning, the downforce allows the cars to do all three MUCH more effectively and at higher speeds than a normal car.

Answer 5

The force required to overcome air resistance varies with the SQUARE of velocity. Therefore, the faster a vehicle travels, the more important aerodynamics become. This is why a vehicle with twice the torque and horsepower of an otherwise identical one may still only achieve a top speed which is a few mph (or kph) faster.

Overcoming air resistance is paramount to a F1 team. At speed, their vehicle's cross-section (the profile it presents to the wind) and coefficient of friction (how "slippery" the design is) become the limiting factors of velocity.

Race cars must also be designed to provide some amount of downforce, which helps to keep the tires firmly attached to the pavement during acceleration, deceleration, and turning. Finding the winning balance between these factors is a great deal of what separates good teams from the rest of the field.

Answer 6

the aerodynamics of a f1 automobile may ok make sure the fulfillment of the motorcar and the protection will mean existence or lack of existence to a motive force. f1 is an rather competetive interest and dangerous

Answer 7

A lot of muddled answers here. A modern F1 car develops enormous down-force from its aerodynamics. Unfortunately this generates large amounts of drag. The trick is to get as much down-force as possible at the lowest possible drag coefficient.
Having said that, the drag is high. Huge turbulence is generated by these cars as they extract energy from the wind as they move forwards.

The results are spectacular with 4 G produced in the turns, Enormous grip, incredible cornering

Answer 8

Aerodynamic help in reducing the power loss incurred due to air resistance. The car losses as much as 40% of engine power to overcome the drag force.

The car body is made streamline to create a slip surface for the air to slip on the car body and under the body.

The air resist takes place not only on the car but also on the underside of the car. So the ground clearance is kept as low as possible and the underside of the car is made completely flat to reduce the action of air under the car.

Answer 9

The best explanation can be found by reading Bernoulli's Principle, arguably the basis for the aerodynamics on a modern Formula One car.

Answer 10

It is to keep the car on the road. without them the cars moving at that speen would not grip the road and would not be able to steer around corners. Aerodynamics reduces wind resistance so that the car can move more smoothly through the atmosphere