f1-technical

[mortal grove]

alr thank you very much!

[mortal grove]

would overtaking be better clockwise? first sector would definitely be more active

[mint arch]

oh shit i realise i said first sector

I meant last sector, i was looking at it clockwise

[mortal grove]

i took your much appreciated commentary and applied it to a new track, how's this? details are in the image

[mint arch]

that looks a lot better

i was about to ask where would drs be 🤦

[keen rose]

Holy shit that looks beautiful 🥹

[bright dawn]

I see so many ways to spin out here

beautiful

[mortal grove]

yeeees i was thinking about that!!

barriers would be fantastic

[mortal grove]

THANK YOUUU 🩵🩵

[mortal grove]

i was about to add it 😔

[mortal grove]

procrastinating on first line of protection and buildings and i believe a portion of the grandstands are very much not regulation but the fia track design rules are too vague and too french

[junior dune]

I'm down to drive on it

[mortal grove]

SWEET

it's my party so rocket engines are allowed

[bright dawn]

nooo nnOooo not another Monaco man

[mortal grove]

no no no ofc not i just mean there would be barriers everywhere for spinsies and funsies

i emailed it to the fia bc the track design regulations say you can send in any design for critique 🤓

[mint arch]

if someone could make this in beam or something that would be cool

[mortal grove]

i considered that but regs say official format is autocad which i may try

unfortunately i'm hopeless with 3d modeling which makes beam a touch of an issue

[mint arch]

im also hopeless tbf

is there elevation to the track?

[mortal grove]

the locations i was looking at included palawan and miraflores, lima so likely not, as it would be in a more coastal area

not to mention the variety of sharp turns which may not lend themselves well to elevation lol

[mint arch]

any banking to the corners either?

[mortal grove]

banking is very difficult to figure out in compliance w drainage and regulation together so probably one or two of the sharpest turns but i'm too lazy to do the math of what all makes a perfect 3% incline or wtv

[mint arch]

fair

but that is 100% much better than your original design, gj

[mortal grove]

original design was literally just drawing lines to start and connecting them 💀

but thank you very much

it started out as a funsies of and now it's actually becoming passion project architecture fanaticism

[brave vine]

yo Arent the engines next year gonna like compress and decompress cuz of heat an thsts gonna cause a 4 tenth advantage. Like it’s a 16:1 compression ratio like wtf

[chilly grotto]

Monaco 2.0 Unless I'm wrong

[mortal grove]

that design has since been abandoned and tossed to the winds dw

[chilly grotto]

Sorry if it came out as criticism

[mortal grove]

no no i entirely agree with you

[raven dock]

i have decided to play the game of FAFO, and given a renault R25 (rev limited at 19k revs) a V6 sound of my own creation (up to 13,440 revs), and driven it. apparently this is what it would sound like for the three laps it could run

[karmic gate]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcOSoCsHVY8&t=9s

[tall wyvern]

Oh no

[gleaming mortar]

I needed that. Yummy ahh vid

[gleaming mortar]

Is air shaper free? It says TRY FREE…but is it really

Bruh its in EUROS

The amount of dirty air is insane

[karmic gate]

you can do 1 free simple try a month

[mortal grove]

make sound edible

[plucky kettle]

how do the rear and front wing setups actually work? (try to explain in simple terms pls)

[gleaming mortar]

Speaking of rear amd front wings, are they carbon fibre this year?

[timber forum]

They already were

For years

[plain tree]

Bigger wing = car stick to ground more but less straight line speed

[gleaming mortar]

Ohhh

[plain tree]

Its like the simplest explanation

[fervent timber]

anyone got any advice on how to learn cfd

[sturdy escarp]

less front wing and more rear wing equal planted rear wheels and front wheels that don’t turn as much

more front wing and less rear wing equals less stable rear but better turn in

less wing overall=faster in a straight line

[graceful locust]

i'd be surprised if thats the real car

it looks a lot like the render

prob a basic spec

audi posted the first pic so i doubt that's their final car

they're probably pulling what mercedes did in 2022

[proven horizon]

It’s not the real car, the test is for the reliability

[tall wyvern]

understand the physics first

and you can do something like this as you go https://wiki.openfoam.com/"first_glimpse"_series

[fervent timber]

Well that’s good because I’m doing a physics degree lol

Any of you guys know physics grads who work in aero/this sort of thing? I’ve always thought it would just be the mech eng guys doing it

[tall wyvern]

not physics grads but i'm sure they exist, you're well placed for it i'm sure if you're taking an interest

the openfoam documentation is really good, so if you can go through understanding the solvers and the physics, and then follow the tutorial cases to understand openfoam itself then you can pretty much do what you want

https://www.simscale.com/docs/simwiki/numerics-background/what-are-the-navier-stokes-equations/

i don't think there are any mech eng really.. i think it's near enough 100% aero

[real patrol]

Does this imply you can just make a massive blocky pixel car made up of regulation blocks

[karmic gate]

technically yes but it need to have a minimum radius on some corners

ngl it would be fun to try that

[real patrol]

regulation block car

da whip

[short ether]

Any interesting stuff?

[fathom beacon]

who statistically had the best career?

[timber forum]

Well I'm biased but definitely lewis Hamilton

2007-2021 he had a win every season

2007-24 he had a Podium every season

105 wins

200+ podiums I think

Or I'm being crazy

100+ poles

5000+ pts

And way more

[unkempt moat]

Sargeant

He won every race in 2023 except Singapore

Like he was that good that Williams needed to kick him to make the grid fair

Forgot to tell you that Sargeant in 2024 also dominated thst much that he secured the title in Saudi Arabia

[cyan badge]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1Cq1c_Ci_M

[urban quarry]

statistically its obviously lewis hamilton, but i dont think thats the best way to measure a driver since i definitely wouldnt say lewis hamilton is the best driver ever

[plain tree]

to be fair, to get the driver with statistically the best career you would probably chose the driver with highest average points per race but exclude drivers who drove like 1 race only in their career

and that is not that good anyway cuz different eras used different points systems

[quick wind]

The analysis in CFD fundamentally looks at the wake effect of the 26' car. What would be interesting is a direct comparison against the 2025 car.

[fathom beacon]

I would

[raven dock]

Statistically from they eye of mechanics, its Schumacher (michael) because he could allegedly notice the suspension geometry changed within a single lap, but it could also be Niki lauda, who managed to shave 2 seconds off a lap during testing with a car, by knowing exactly what to change on it

Performance wise, hamilton for wins overall

Taking the prime five years of Schumacher and Hamiltons careers, and putting them through the 2000 to 2002, and the 2003/04 points systems, Schumacher comes out on top

Plus balancing out points systems, and wins per first seven races (first ever f1 season was seven races) its still schumacher

[karmic gate]

The 2026 car only lose 15.5% of the downforce from 10m behind compared with FIA's 18% in 2022 and 46% in 2021

[plucky kettle]

will the 2026 cars still have wheel covers

?

[pale pivot]

Yes, but now the teams can design them on their own

[plucky kettle]

am i the only one who thinks these rear wings wont be able to be set up to high downforce setups

they look too thin

like a permanent monza setup

[frigid frigate]

I would assume that they aren’t showing the cars with a high downforce setup on they will definitely change the angle at higher downforce tracks

[eager sigil]

will rake return with the 26 regs

[sick plover]

to me i feel the sidepods r a bit small in comparison to the vcarb no?

[rustic elbow]

That is the high downforce setup, the size of the regulation box for the rear wing profiles was reduced quite a bit for 2026.

[rustic elbow]

Maybe not as extreme as in 2021 but unfortunately yes, the cars will likely have a bit more rake again.

[plain tree]

Remember these aren't actual cars

They're just for livery showoff

[mighty mist]

I think it’s like when redbull revealed the 2024 car they’ve shown some of the details that they don’t mind but hidden the floor and all that matters to them

They could’ve just kept the showcar for the render images too

[eager sigil]

guys would it be better for the nose to be higher or lower

cos if it's higher then that means more room for the active aero at the cost of cog and the cockpit positioning and if it's lower it has better cog at the cost of active aero space

[plain tree]

i think it's regulated to the point where there isn't much room for change

[rustic elbow]

You have quite a lot of scope to play with the height of the nose but doing so can also force you to have to move the cockpit forward or backwards for example.

[tall wyvern]

Well that’s not true

[rustic elbow]

Then we probably have a different understanding of “a lot of room“

[tall wyvern]

Sorry I mean the cockpit has nothing to do with the height of the nose

[rustic elbow]

https://youtu.be/6p6GlxJW0UQ

Yes, it absolutely does, due to how the regulations are written

[tall wyvern]

I mean just read the regs

[rustic elbow]

From about 7 minutes in is the relevant part

[tall wyvern]

The nose can’t go lower than z125

[odd breach]

.

[tall wyvern]

Ah I see you mean the top of the box

[rustic elbow]

Yeah, sorry, I thought it was obvious that I mean the upper limit, I could have been clearer 😅
I can't remember when a team last wanted to have a lower nose than usual.

[eager sigil]

wouldnt that help with having lower pressure under the wing

or at least making it function like a diffuser just without the tunnels

[flint cypress]

alive

[tall wyvern]

I actually don’t think it’s possible to draw a nose that low

[karmic gate]

Here is cadillacs boxes

Here is my

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1459313510768181309/1461792665283858676/GIF_16-01-2026_19-37-30.gif

Ower cockpit position is not to different except my is like 10 to 20mm forward

[karmic gate]

Best close ups we have so far of 2026 cars

[gleaming mortar]

The thing i circled is solid. Why not have plates?

The rear wing design looks great

[marsh charm]

Show car

has no engine

or electric parts

[gleaming mortar]

Ah

[storm wind]

Depends on the track

Also the weather conditions

[eager sigil]

well you can't edit the nose height in between races can you

[rustic elbow]

of course you could

[karmic gate]

https://youtu.be/f3_vTWwtFbc?si=rhGpCMitklT4HbOn

[tall wyvern]

People who aren’t aerodynamicists pretending they are just because they have F1 on their CV and then making aero videos is my pet peeve.

[gray wave]

wouldn't read too much into the show car

[rustic elbow]

you don't have to read anything into the show car if you look at the regs

the rear wings simply aren't allowed to be as deep as in previous seasons

[storm wind]

The rear wings will be thinner this year because the cars will be lighter so less downforce is required

[storm wind]

I think people that do this should wait until the season starts and we can actually see the cars and maybe get a view of them in their CV, doing it in their CV before we even get teams making different variations seems a bit dumb imo

However i think it would make an insane project for physics class

[sturdy escarp]

Guys will the new regs simplify set ups for each week

obv suspension setups will still need to be tuned but won’t aero setups just be as high as possible

because you lose all the drags on the straight

[plain tree]

No

Not every straight is a straight where tou can activate the system

It will probably be only straights where drs could be used

Correct me if im wrong

[fair heath]

Chonky ass intake

[frigid dawn]

so glad wheel covers are off and gone.

[gleaming mortar]

How different are the concept cars from the cars that will be racing in Australia?

I feel like the wheel cover things would have been good.

(I dont speak car mb)

[mint arch]

how come they are gone?

[gleaming mortar]

Aston Martin has a big plate on the rear wing

[frigid dawn]

no longer in the regs.

and they were ugly and bland.

[mint arch]

did they not have much of a performance impact then?

[gleaming mortar]

I feel like they were good, i feel like they would be beneficial now, but idk cuz the new front wings

[tired jungle]

They were awful, give me rims

[frigid dawn]

they were meant to reduce downwash

we know how that panned out

[eager sigil]

i realise that now it appears i am wrong

dual-spec noses

[eager sigil]

were they not meant to reduce turbulent air from the wheel spokes..?

[static sluice]

why doesn’t the vcarb have the second fin on the end plate

[gleaming mortar]

I thought

Downwash?

The wheel things?

Thats why i feel like they are needed now

Redbull did good rear wing design withe the small plate at the end

My annotations and thinking.

The side pod is just blocked by the wheel

[eager sigil]

suspension geo is supposed to do that

i think

unclear but it looks like they'll be using

err

pullrod

[torn field]

no front wing endplate?

[gleaming mortar]

Yeah

I feel like there should be another endplate on front wings

[plain tree]

I wonder how much cooling they need to justify that massive airbox

[frigid dawn]

correct. the downwash of turbulent air (vortices and dirty wake) caused by the rotating wheels.

its purpose was "closer racing" and "facilitate overtaking".

[gleaming mortar]

The front wings of the VCARB are angering me

[gleaming mortar]

Should be this

Well something similar

There sre no wheel things so these are good

[fair heath]

Are Ferrari really using red bull "bazooka" covers?

Lots of Ferrari pages posting it

[rustic elbow]

We won‘t know until we see the car (and even then it can still change until the season starts).

[ashen thunder]

What's the purpose of front and rear wings in a car

[rare briar]

As far as I'm aware, Merc is the only car so far that has this extra axel that connects the barge boards on both sides. I wonder if this is just extra suspension?

[quiet mantle]

Aero and downforce

[gleaming mortar]

I wasent sure about that, but i noticed that too

They suspension rods are thickkk

But wide

The front wing end plates ❤️

Things I noticed

[rare briar]

I just peeped Merc's first shakedown video and that axel isn't there on the real car. So maybe it was just cosmetic on the render.

[tall wyvern]

It’s called floor brace and it’s an element to brace the floor board

[gleaming mortar]

But it doesnt do anything for ground effect. (Nothing major) correct me if im wrong please

[rustic elbow]

The real car also has it and most cars will probably use the brace to support the floor board

[gleaming mortar]

Ah okay

Without them it will jiggle.

[rustic elbow]

That can happen over bumps and curbs but the sheer aerodynamic forces might also be enough to just rip them off (unless you reinforce them significantly, which would make them too heavy again).

[frigid dawn]

to create downforce

[cyan badge]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYqi-qvOkNI

[amber kraken]

Boy the engine sounds a bit more louder than last year

https://youtu.be/80AERsgXEUY?si=PetgyROgHfktbeXt&t=18

[frigid dawn]

sounds much better.

[gray crypt]

2026 car with new sidepod and bigger sharkfin

and the extra rod connected to car from bargeboard

[cobalt axle]

Btw I’m sorry I am doing this but does anyone want to buy a second hand wheel cause I’m selling mine becuase I moved from Xbox to PC this it the link https://ebay.us/m/FOEiz7

[gleaming mortar]

Different 🤔

[fair heath]

Are there any radically different philosophies this year? Doesn't look like it

[worn blaze]

Ground effect is no longer in effect

And now automatic aero exists

[worn blaze]

I doubt aero can rip it off at f1 speeds especially at the angle it'll hit them most

[fair heath]

I meant car design wise regarding different teams

We had completely different sidepod designs

[worn blaze]

Oh
In that case I don't k ow

[fair heath]

Merc Vs Ferrari kind

No sidepod Vs huge bathtub sidepods

And red bull bazooka shoulders

[worn blaze]

Yeah I get it

[fair heath]

Doesn't look like much of that this year

Unless Ferrari are bringing something really major in their actual race spec car

This is the most basic car work or no work spec

Then again this year engines are the major talking point

[rustic elbow]

Of course it can, especially if the support isn’t strong enough. Wings and other aerodynamic parts have failed countless times already.
The leverage of the floor board on the floor foot is also quite significant.
The forces at top speed can be massive.

[fair heath]

And it's not looking good for ferrari

This year is still our year 💔

[worn blaze]

I didn't think it would because the torque, plus the airflow on it is primarily going to be acting on it from the front to the back,
Why is there greater forces at the floor board

[worn blaze]

I don't think the leverage is as significant

Plus there's also the vertical thing on it for support

Personally thought it was for reducing vibrations

[rustic elbow]

if you use it
I‘m basically discussing what would happen without it.

[worn blaze]

Oh the bar?

I still don't think the aero forces were the main reason for it

[rustic elbow]

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/ferrari-sf26-fiorano-shakedown-stoppage-explained/

A Ferrari spokesperson confirmed to The Race that it had “no issues” and the stoppage was needed because Ferrari is only using a ‘demonstration event’ to shake the car down and that limits it to just 15km of running.
This is different to a full filming day or ‘promotional event’ - which allows for 200km.
At Fiorano, 15km equates to five laps. With Charles Leclerc getting two laps in the car shortly, Ferrari had to be strict with how much distance was covered initially to avoid breaching the limit.

[rustic elbow]

Maybe this helps visualize why you can expect a significant torque on the floor board mounting point if you don’t support it via the brace.

[worn blaze]

A one diamesional cfd screen shot with no numbers?

Yes indeed

The main torque I see is acting on the perpendicular surface

[rustic elbow]

I took a screenshot to show you the general direction of airflow in that region, since you seemed to think the air would hit the floor board straight on and not pretty much broadside.

[gleaming mortar]

Air is not hitting the board straight on

[worn blaze]

even if it isnt the floor board part has a vertical part aswell, that adds reinforcement

from what i can see here much of the airflow hitting that specific part itself is angled which already decreses the force but its also not as high in magnitude as airflow straight on for example on the front wing, i could still be wrong tho

[rustic elbow]

The floor board is the vertical part.
The horizontal part on and near the reference plane is the floor foot.

https://fxtwitter.com/dr_obbs/status/2014365817115222442

Dr Obbs (@dr_obbs)

Sorry to be THAT GUY, but if you want to learn what the different parts of the car are called, then you just need to download the tech regulations and look in section C3 to see what the regulation volumes are called.
︀︀
︀︀www.fia.com/system/files/documents/fia_2026_f1_regulations_-section_c_technical-iss_15-_2025-12-10_0.pdf
︀︀
︀︀I created these graphics below from the FIA render car to help with the naming conventions. It's a few months old so I haven't checked to see if any names have changed. But a quick glance, I think they are still the same names in the regs. I would highly recommend having a copy of these technical regulations to at least help guide you through this first part of the season.

**💬 12 🔁 22 ❤️ 382 👁️ 24.3K **

FxTwitter · Jan 22, 2026, 3:53 PM

[worn blaze]

ah my apologies, but personally i think the floor board has enough reinforcement aginst aero, the viberations on it caused by the car are probably greater and more of a reason to keep it rigid imo

like i said thop i may be wrong, you can alwasy ask beam

although i was wrong it is a higher pressure zone

[frigid dawn]

it is acting approx. 45⁰ to the surface of the board. trigonometry would enforce the respective force on the mounting point.

[worn blaze]

the airflow?

[frigid dawn]

indeed.

[worn blaze]

yeah i understand, i was talking about the floor board and floor foot respective of each other

[frigid dawn]

ah ok.

[worn blaze]

unfortuantly i dont have the area of the board you could probably try n claulate the forces on it

[frigid dawn]

👍

[worn blaze]

to a highly estimated value

[frigid dawn]

try having a look at the tech. regs? they might have a max. size. they're heavy on volumetric dims.

[worn blaze]

i doubt its worth the effort really

[gleaming mortar]

Merc mastered engineering the f1 car

[cyan badge]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sdw9T2V4FI

[fluid shale]

Hey I wanna ask about this part on the F2008 sidepod that has mini Italian flag on it

Whats that's part called?

[rustic elbow]

winglet

the part in front of it that it’s connected to is the chimney, the part behind was usually referred to as flip-up

[fluid shale]

Thank you mate

[neat flower]

what do barge boards do aerodynamically?

[fair heath]

That does infact look like a cooling outlet

[rich gust]

wheel covers are mandatory right?

Cadillac hasnt had theirs yet so I was curious

[gleaming mortar]

Merc aero i think is good

I thought wheel covers were not allowed? Or no one used em at least (correct me if im wrong, im tryna learn)

[frigid dawn]

wheel covers are no longer in the regs. teams are free to work with suppliers and choose their own designs.

[frigid dawn]

manage and energize airflow around the front of the car + create strong vortices + direct airflow toward the sidepods and underfloor + condition the flow for downstream aero surfaces + improve aerodynamic efficiency.

[gleaming mortar]

Is it like a replacement for lack of ground effect and diffusers?

[tall wyvern]

That’s just every possible buzzword. What they actually do is inwash the tyre wake. The challenge is turning that undesirable trait into performance.

[gleaming mortar]

I feel like the wheel board thing would be good this year

[cyan badge]

https://x.com/dr_obbs/status/2015863998386782462?s=20

Dr Obbs (@dr_obbs)

Lunch break for work so here is my quick analysis of the RB22.

Front:
⭐️ Front wing looks fairly vanilla compared to the render. I think they come with something different for the first race. End plates aren't as aggressive with outwashing camber.
⭐️ interesting footplate

X · Jan 26, 2026, 7:06 PM

https://vxtwitter.com/dr_obbs/status/2015815253443965308?s=20

Dr Obbs (@dr_obbs)

If you are a budding tech head and want to understand front wing aerodynamics of this regulation set then you MUST download (link below) the PhD dissertation by Jonathan Pegrum. It's readily cited and read by aerodynamicists currently in F1.

And guess where Dr. Pegrum works? @McLarenF1 as Principal Aerodynamicist (front) for the 2026 car.

You need to read this dissertation.

vxTwitter / fixvx · Jan 26, 2026, 3:53 PM

[gleaming mortar]

The ferrari shark fin has like serrated edges (idk the term please forgive me)

[gleaming mortar]

Aww so cute

<@&781898349006684170>

[twin geode]

theyve already been muted.

[gleaming mortar]

Oh what the

Sidepod looking good

It has a hole in the cooling vent, i dont see it on other cars unless im blind

[rustic elbow]

Using the correct vocabulary is incredibly important here, the barge boards, which the question was about, never created inwash but rather pushed air outward.
This year's floor boards are intended to do just what you said.

[rustic elbow]

If you're referring to the opening where the strap to lift a car away can be attached, every car has to have it as per the technical regulations:

In order that a car may be lifted quickly in the event of it stopping on the circuit, the principal rollover structure must incorporate an unobstructed opening, whose section measures 60mm x 30mm with internal radii of no more than R15mm, clearly visible in side view, to permit a strap to pass through it.

[frigid dawn]

no; they've been there for a few decades now.

[tall wyvern]

Much of a muchness, board is literally just short for barge board

[rustic elbow]

It‘s not, at least if you go by the wording of the rules (bargeboard was mentioned in the pre-2022 regs and hasn’t been a part of them since).

[tall wyvern]

Yeah because board is just short for barge board in the rules too

[gleaming mortar]

Board

[rustic elbow]

If you insist, please find me a single reputable source that calls it "floor barge board."

I'm not even sure why you feel the need to argue this tbh.
The FIA has decided on a certain nomenclature, which even helps to differentiate between inwashing and outwashing bodywork in that area of the car.
Let's just accept and use that when referring to the cars from 2026 and onward.

[tall wyvern]

Where do you think they got the word board from.

[plucky kettle]

ferrari might have a s-duct in the SF-26, i know it has been used before but what is the purpose of it?

[gleaming mortar]

The ferrari has me thinking

It is different than the others

[rustic elbow]

board, noun: a long thin piece of strong hard material

[rustic elbow]

It‘s mainly there to clean up the boundary layer and simply move those aero losses to another area of the car, where they’re less harmful to the overall aerodynamics (hopefully you‘re familiar with these terms ).
At this point it‘s not known though if it actually is an S-Duct (one in the side pod, like the 2023 Ferrari also had, not like the more famous S-Ducts in the nose) or just a normal side pod cooling inlet and outlet that like like an S-Duct.

[worn blaze]

Whats the point of the things infront of the tyres flow

And why dont they connect tye nose flush to the wing

Whats the point of these

Are they trying to create a low pressure zone for the tyre with the vorticies

[gleaming mortar]

Its annoying cuz the tyre gets all the pressure

Tyres are victims now

[worn blaze]

Wdym

[gleaming mortar]

I wish i knew terms

Like the air is being kinda aimed at the tyers

[rustic elbow]

The smaller circle is a camera housing for one of the onboard cameras

[worn blaze]

Isnt it already going to the tyres

Are they trying to create streamlined flow

Is that what you mean

But why

Wouldent you rather want lower pressure flow there

So the tyre doesnt have much resistance

[frigid dawn]

you're precisely right: inwash vs outwash is key to differentiate between the kinds of boards used in an f1 car.

but there's no point arguing with stubborn sophists, you will find. best left ignored/muted.

[worn blaze]

Its worth noting he claims to be an aerodynamacist for Mercedes

[tall wyvern]

I didn’t say Mercedes, but I am an aerodynamicist.

[tall wyvern]

You think it’s sophistry to say board is just short for barge board? Ha. It is purely as part of the simplification and formalisation of the rules from 2022.

[fair heath]

not going well for audi is it

[gleaming mortar]

Ohh yeah

[worn blaze]

Right righg i assumed

[worn blaze]

Can you tell me what these things do

Big circle

[gleaming mortar]

To move air outwards, away from the car

[worn blaze]

Whered you get that form so i can read it entirly myself

[gleaming mortar]

Multiple youtube channels, but i dont remember which ones. I watched multiple to se if knowledge was consistent before i assumed

[worn blaze]

I see

[gleaming mortar]

If im wrong, i want to know

[worn blaze]

I dont understand how withouth them the air would move inward

[gleaming mortar]

I think the tyres suck air under

[frigid dawn]

i can claim to be an astronaut also. as the old meme went: "on the internet no-one knows you're a dog."

[worn blaze]

Im aware. Infact ive had this argument with him before. Thats why i said claim

[worn blaze]

Yeah but why

[tall wyvern]

It makes literally no difference to me whether you believe it or not

[gleaming mortar]

The endplates on the front wing push air around the car and lessen the pressure of the air flow hitting the tyre when it rotates forward. Without them, the tyre would have a lot more pressure from the air going against the wheel which moves forward. Air will go against anything thats being pushed (i looked at a case study online, and thats what I concluded, but i could be wrong)

Computational Investigation of the Aerodynamics of a Wheel Installed on a Race Car with a Multi-Element Front Wing
by Carlo Cravero and Davide Marsano

🏎️👉 👈💨

[worn blaze]

I CALLED IT! Agian it can still be wrong but idk

[tall wyvern]

The endplate footplate vortex is used to control wheel wake, ie stop tyre losses interacting with important areas

[gleaming mortar]

AYAYAYYAAYAY

[gleaming mortar]

I THOUGHT SO

Front and rear wings are cool

Whats the purpose of the shark fin?

[worn blaze]

Where

I think its to make the flow smoother

And also apparently yaw stability

[worn blaze]

They make it so the flow doesn't seperate from the surface

[gleaming mortar]

Okay

[worn blaze]

I assume theyre useful during turns or when you're in low pressure wake of another car

its a vertical stabiliser i js realised💔

[gleaming mortar]

OH WAIT YEAH

[gleaming mortar]

I have a question. Can teams change their aero after the shakedown? Like kinda major improvements or changes to their car?

I wonder what the honda engine weighs

[rustic elbow]

Yes, of course they can do that, as long as they don’t change anything safety related, like the chassis itself or anything concerning the frontal crash structure within the nose.

[rustic elbow]

The ICE (and related components) will weigh ever so slightly more than 130-134 kg, the whole PU will weigh a little over 185 kg.

[gleaming mortar]

Omg thank you i was so curious

[rustic elbow]

Obviously assuming they are at the weight limit but the PU limit is supposedly relatively easy to achieve, compared to the overall weight limit.

[gleaming mortar]

Yeah

[cyan badge]

https://vxtwitter.com/RosarioGiuliana/status/2016944333275144601?s=20

Rosario Giuliana (@RosarioGiuliana)

The AMR26's rear suspension features a link wishbone that attaches to the base of the rear wing's double pylon. This very high arrangement, clearly for aerodynamic reasons, was a similar concept on Newey's cars to the highly complex rear suspension of the Red Bull RB16B, which spent its tokens on rear-end and gearbox upgrades for 2021.
#F1tech

vxTwitter / fixvx · Jan 29, 2026, 6:39 PM

[pine spire]

What do you guys think bout the new regs

Well I feel mom is just drs but not drs🥀🥀

[worn blaze]

I actully like it's pretty cool

Drs was cool but this is new engineering

Which is cooler

And more complex

Do the drivers have control over the active aero

Can they use any setting anywhere

[rustic elbow]

Yes

[rustic elbow]

No, only in predefined zones, like DRS.

[gleaming mortar]

Mom or active aero for cornering?

I wonder if a lot of overtaking will be in corners now

[pine spire]

Yup

[worn blaze]

Both

[topaz lion]

Wishbones mounted on the rear wing support. Interesting 🤔

https://youtube.com/watch?v=hrIJjCc19AM

[tall wyvern]

chopping the outside off doesn’t magically make it outwash

[gleaming mortar]

How does Dual Clutch Transmission work

[graceful locust]

Been messing with my synthesized V6 sound to make it more aggressive like the new gen engines. Curious if this sounds more like the 2026 era or closer to the 2014–2025 hybrids to you all.

[cyan badge]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLzto55W3RU

[neat flower]

watching driver61's videos makes me realize how hilariously layman science communication can be at times and how little i know

like when he was talking about thermal expansion. "well of course everybody knows that"

[tall salmon]

how should one get into the technical aspects of f1?

[neat flower]

become an aerospace engineer honestly

at least to know what you're really talking about

[tall salmon]

im in high school...
you got any youtubers or other sources for educating myself?

[fleet parrot]

Go study in uk, get into university motorsports teams, compete and allat and you might get picked up

Oh

Driver61 is always great

[tall salmon]

okk thanks alot

[worn blaze]

In general anything to be honest you can study fluid mechanics material sciences. Use wikipedia what not.

Theres aspects in f1 that are derived from aircraft and other places and in general knowing the physics and engineer8ng behind it will also go a long way if you wana study physics and engineering later on

But dont stay walled in to f1 if you genuinly waht to persue engineering

[tall salmon]

okk thanks a lot man

[frosty forge]

I’m more curious on 3 specific teams
.Williams
.audi
.aston

For one.. I think Williams within a year from now would be contenders.. especially with sponsers and such..

For Audi… I believe they would be contenders for next year. Especially since they have done racing for awhile, they got the Brazilian who I believe is there golden boy, and overall have a great team behind him

As for Aston.. it explains its self.. they got the money and right members… just need one of those drivers to leave. Either Alison retires soon or those “you know what” files cause an impact to Lawrence stroll and lead to lance stroll to lose his seat

(Which tbh.. we can’t say it’s not possible when you can recall when Mazepin was sacked from the team due to controversy with the war.)

(Same with Horner)

[gleaming mortar]

Im doing physics and mechanical engineering

Well i plan on maybe getting a degree in mechanical engineering

[tall wyvern]

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781118454190

This is the best aerodynamics textbook

https://shop.elsevier.com/books/aerodynamics-for-engineering-students/collicott/978-0-323-99544-3

This is the most digestible aerodynamics textbook

[vestal depot]

Physics in highschool was a pain in the ass

There's a reason why I'm doing history

[tall wyvern]

Incredible input well done

[covert torrent]

how to have special roles?

like vettel fan and ferrari?

[gleaming mortar]

But i want physics

[eager sigil]

wait guys

[eager sigil]

like a beam wing?

anyways

[eager sigil]

can teams have the active aero actuators like

in the nose

does mcl do that

cos i was watching a formula addict short n i was wondering if that was real

[worn blaze]

If u mean stuff to move the elements

Ie change the aoa

Then yes

With the new regs

[topaz lion]

they make it circled

and anyway, i have proof that the new sidepods outwash

look at the spray

again

here also

[tall wyvern]

It makes literally no difference when the onset angle is so high

Don’t listen to people on YouTube

[raven dock]

Don't the new cars have turbo lag?

[late gate]

How do F1 cars go through corners really fast?

[quiet mantle]

Turn the wheel

[late gate]

uh

ok

[worn blaze]

They have aero kits

Their aerodynamics surfaces produce negative lift. Usually called downforce

That makes the friction greater between them and the ground

So they're able to take corners faster without slipping

Plus they have interesting steering

Even if it's unrelated to the actul question

The turning angle of both the wheels is different

[tall wyvern]

More formally, the force that pushes the car into the corner is the grip of the tyre times the force into the ground. F1 cars have extremely grippy tyres and an extremely high force into the ground (downforce), so the force into the corner is extremely high. There is also an aerodynamic force into the corner (sideforce).

[topaz lion]

don't think it will have

[stiff moth]

Is it possible to make it to f1 by studying physics? I'm currently at first year and i would love to work at something related to f1/aerodinamics

[worn blaze]

Well getting into f1 is very niche you'll have to ask beam wing

But if you wana work in aerospace or aerodynamics in general

Related to engineering

Choose mechanical

For pure physics im not sure eaither

If you wana work with fluid
I say go into aerospace
Pick mechanical engineering

[stiff moth]

i mean i wanted to study aerospace eng but since i dont have that career in my city i chose physics

[worn blaze]

City uni?

[stiff moth]

i am realising now i should have chosen mech eng hahahah

[stiff moth]

zaragoza, spain

[worn blaze]

Do you have the option for mche

Meche

In your college?

[stiff moth]

yeah

[worn blaze]

I think you might be able to change

Since youre in the first year

[stiff moth]

yeah i know

but idk since none of these are my first choice physics seems like a more secure choice

[worn blaze]

Well usually you cant work on applications of fluid mechanics with oure physics

So working on planes and f1 cars is usualy out of the question

[worn blaze]

You should talk.to a councellor

[stiff moth]

well that sucks then hahhshsh

what did you study?

[worn blaze]

Im in high school

So nothing yet

But i know a bit about aero

[tall wyvern]

Everybody I know (including me) did aerospace. I don’t think you’d necessarily be discounting yourself by doing physics but it’s probably harder. You’d have to make sure you have fluids modules, and even better, aerodynamics specifically.

[stiff moth]

oh okay i had in mind doing an aerospace eng master after i finish physics so i could be closer to what i really like if thats possible

[stiff moth]

do you have something in mind?

[worn blaze]

Yeah in your masters you can specify but id definitely recommend doing meche for your bachlors

[worn blaze]

Yeah meche all the way

Once i get to college

[latent geyser]

I did Aero and just gotta say Goodluck!

[tropic flame]

Hey there, is this a good place to share my open source f1 api? Cheers

[fallow furnace]

so aerospace usually works the best for getting into f1? and how is the competition around it? im in highschool and have made up my mind for tryna get into f1 js need sm advice on how to actually do that. im thinkin aeroscpace engineering then an actual motorsport masters. any advice?

[tall wyvern]

I did aerospace masters too. It depends what role you want really. The most surefire way is to secure a placement year with a team during your degree. So look at the requirements for both graduate positions in the role you want and placement roles in the role you want. What role do you want?

[fallow furnace]

which college or uni did u attend for ur placement? cuz the ones im looking at are cranberry, oxford brookes and a couple others near them which usually are the top unis for team placements. They also offer a motorsport masters which i read is rlly useful for any role and js ups ur chances cuz it covers everything from aero to tyres to structural to brakes to even powertrain. rn im looking at a wide range of em cuz of this tantalizing motorsport degree which allows me to function in almost any role. Kinda leaning towards race engineering cuz its on track and a lot more hands on and has usully lesser competition than aerodynamics cuz thats the usual path people take. Also where do i check the requirements for different positions? Sorry for the rant but talking to someone on the inside to help me is rlly useful and i wanna maximise the info i get from u

[worn blaze]

Why did the regs make it so the the wings have less elements

[fallow furnace]

the wings actually became more dynamic to change downforce during the race particularly on corners and on straights to provide optimal downforce, so now the teams can set up 2 downforce levels, one for the straights and on for the corners and drivers can freely switch ebtween them. Its actually the floor that have WAAYYY lesser elements now

[worn blaze]

Why couldent they do it with the amount of elemants they had before

[fallow furnace]

mainly cuz the fia likes to shake things up every like 4-5 yrs depending on how u count them and to keep the teams innovating

[worn blaze]

Ah

[worn blaze]

How do the elemants move?

Do only the top two move?

[fallow furnace]

on the wings there r hydraulic systems that are controlled via the steering wheel that move the winglets up and down to channel the air in different ways to change downforce levels. The elements on the rear wing r basically drs and no drs but slightly different and everyone can use them without a rule for their activation

[fallow furnace]

the front wing(the nose like thing) and the rear wing(the spoiler like thing on the rear of the car)

[worn blaze]

Yeah but on the front wing there are three elemnts
How many of them move?

[worn blaze]

Oh
Why are they exposed like that? Coundekt they have placed them inside the nose

[fallow furnace]

we havent gotten a breakdown on how the teams r implementing the hydraulic systems but u can see on the pics weve gotten that they are internal. You might have seen the mule cars in the post season test

[worn blaze]

Oh theyre internal?

[fallow furnace]

on the actual 2026 cars, yes.

[worn blaze]

I saw some pictures of pods on the frong wing

On googpe

Goggle*

Google*💔

[worn blaze]

That's cool

[fallow furnace]

lmfao i type rlly bad on my phone too

[fallow furnace]

mhm if u see there r like these small "Steps" of wings on the front wing, not the endplates, those move.

[worn blaze]

Why are wings curved like this

[fallow furnace]

generally the curves are to generate downforce by "guiding" the air down specific channels created by the curves.

if u take a paper airplane for example

the nose is sharp

to "cut" thru the air

that rlly is js to move the air around the plane

allowing the plane to fly a bit more freely with less resistance

same principle of moving the air via these curves

[worn blaze]

I mean this

I get the swept wing part

Why do this

Usually you only see curve on propellers

That too in the form of a twist

[fallow furnace]

again same kind of reason. to oversimplify it, those curves are aimed to divert the air thats hitting the car at those speeds down under the car, past the suspension and down to the floor elements to generate downforce that literally sucks the car to the ground

[worn blaze]

The airfoils would direct the airupward

Not downward
How would angling thr wings and making the elemnet curved that way deflect air

[fallow furnace]

it angles the air upwards to move them into the sidepods which direct the airflow to the floor

[worn blaze]

Thats unrelated
Plus downwash is a side effect of lift
Or in this case df

If that werevthe case then the wing wouldent need to be angled like a v

Or have the weird curved
That is if these are infact the reasons which i doubt

Air naturally flows to the sidepods imo
Or even if it doesnt i dont belive its sole reason is the front wing

(Curve)

[timber forum]

Welcome back turbo lag

[vestal depot]

The 2014-2025 were a waste of space

Why bring back turbos

If the very thing that makes them exciting got removed by an MGU-H

[eager sigil]

does the large power not make turbos exciting?

i mean i guess not cos like fast cars doesnt equal good racing

but anyways

does anyone know why drivers are locking up so often at t1, t4 and t10

new cars? weird angles?

heavy braking?

a combination?

[eager sigil]

oh also

on the vcarb for this year and 2025 merc the top of the airbox was extended forwards but can they do the same for the lower lip of the airbox

[vapid escarp]

narrower tyres, lower downforce, perhaps an imbalance caused by high torque generated by the mgu-k?

drivers are also just testing the limits of these cars i think

[eager sigil]

thanks boss

[rich gust]

Was there a official name given to the 2 little exhaust pipes that used to be present beside the main exhaust?

[rustic elbow]

Wastegate pipes/exhausts

[plucky kettle]

could we call audi's new sidepods as zeropods?

[rustic elbow]

no

[faint scaffold]

pretty much every sidepot has been similar this year if im not wrong?

i think merc got a similar one

[faint scaffold]

ig, the thing his these would eventually become flat when the m.o.m. would be used in two different modes, this curvy design from what i think creates a very stable base to them

in 2025 wings the focus was to push into high downforce which many teams exploited it alot

this year the main goal is to deal with dirty air pushing out of the tires, the wing is designed to pull air inward toward the cars body more pretty much the same function rear wings used to do will not be done by front wings more, they are 100mm thinner ig?they wont need to cover the tires too much, they would deal with more volume if u get what i mean

[worn blaze]

thats true but that wasn't the question I was asking
why are they vish shaped in the first place? how would the curve in the airfoils create a stable base?

[worn blaze]

even if the wing is designed to direct air inward thats not related to my question
cars for many years have had a v shaped bend to the wing and curved airfoils

why not just have this

f3 cars are smoother and simpler
but even they have curved airfoils as you can see at the front elemnts
must be a reason

[tall wyvern]

Do you just mean the trailing edge? Like the chord length increasing outboard? Or do you mean the leading edge sweep? Or something else?

[tall wyvern]

Cranfield and Oxford Brookes are both very very popular for good reason. I did aerospace not motorsport. I didn’t do a placement but I wish I had. Motorsport wasn’t my first choice though so I didn’t even decide to pursue it until a couple of years after I graduated the got lucky. Just add a job alert on LinkedIn for internships in motorsport and graduate roles in motorsport. Follow the usual channels like motorsportjobs etc and just note down what competencies and experience they ask for.

[worn blaze]

the trailing edge

[worn blaze]

Why's the chord length changing here

also

why is it curvey

its both curvy in the y axis and z axis

thats the only way I can describe it

in the first image the leading edge stays roughly the same which I've seen often despite the fact its sweept

but the trailing edge is curvy/tapered

[worn blaze]

same thing here

and in the second imagine the elemnt is curved along the y axies

why?

whats the benefit of that against straight airfoils

why is the wing curved in a v shaped in the second image?

if you have an answer for the sweep or tapered trailing edge id like to know that
the chord also changes its length i think
im.not entirely sure there

[worn blaze]

id like to know the wings are swept aswell though because apparently its not the same reason as on aircraft

[worn blaze]

the wings are pretty straight forward span wise but

Why's there a downward bend

I assume its to make larger downforce because of the camber and effective aoa increasing

[topaz lion]

there's a lot of freedom on that

[topaz lion]

new braking systems. also t10 is lockup paradise

you need to relearn how to brake

[topaz lion]

also the barge boards

[eager sigil]

yeah i got that

[eager sigil]

guys what are the pros n cons of the audi alpine and red bull rear aero actuation

cos red bull hinges at the top audi at the middle and alpine at the bottom

[worn blaze]

imo alpine has an advantage of reduced drag even furthur

[eager sigil]

yeah as well as less rear instability when enabling the drs so ive heard

[worn blaze]

plus it may and this is my opinion actully increse down force

[worn blaze]

yeah heard that too

I think the biggest pro of the alpine system is that theres even less material in the way of the air so ofcourse it reduces drag but

why I think it has greater df is

[eager sigil]

yeah exactly

[worn blaze]

let me draw smth up

[worn blaze]

imo they could reach a greater angle at the rear elemnt which would give you greater diwnforce because nothings in the way

I accidentally wrote drs

[eager sigil]

it also extends the rear wing a bit

[eager sigil]

it's the same thing

[worn blaze]

True

[eager sigil]

which i think might help with overall efficiency

[worn blaze]

thats true

[eager sigil]

something something aspect ratio

also why group c rear wings hung over the diffuser

and why longtails exist

[worn blaze]

dp you have images

[eager sigil]

no

💔

[worn blaze]

oh

[worn blaze]

is this what a long tail is?

"Longtail" (or Langheck in German) cars are specialized high-performance vehicles, often race cars, designed with an significantly extended rear body section to enhance aerodynamics, stability, and top speed

[eager sigil]

my wifi is too bad to send images

[eager sigil]

yes

look up err

pagani coda lunga

it's like that

it extends the diffuser so the car has more rear stability

[worn blaze]

ah

well im no expert on car aero I can really only implement what I know from aircraft

[eager sigil]

that's okay!!!

i think

it's like

the longtail increases the aspect ratio of the car

[worn blaze]

what would that do tho

[eager sigil]

increases stability

decreases drag

i believe

[worn blaze]

how?

[worn blaze]

I think this has something to do with the reason prototypes have shark fins but im not too sure

[eager sigil]

i think yaw inertia

[worn blaze]

yeah

wait I replied to the wrong thing

[worn blaze]

how

[eager sigil]

more gradual pressure recovery

so less pressure drag

cos of flow separations

[worn blaze]

ohhhh

makes sense

also cool thing i noticed

[eager sigil]

it's like an aerofoil!

cool

[worn blaze]

yeah

why do lmps have so tiny wings

[worn blaze]

also ate diffusers just venturi tunnels

[eager sigil]

yes

the rear part

[worn blaze]

oh

[eager sigil]

i think it's cos of drag

since most of the downforce the lmp gets is from the floor i think

[worn blaze]

oh really?

[eager sigil]

so they can run small wings to reduce drag

[eager sigil]

yeah

lots of ground effect

[worn blaze]

damn dident know that

ngl I wish cars still had venturi tunnels
its a very cool and clever concept

do you remember the 2008 f1 cars?

[eager sigil]

yes but also lots of dirty air

[eager sigil]

yes why

[worn blaze]

True

[worn blaze]

I think they're some of the coolest ngl

[eager sigil]

yeah they had SO much aero

such intricate designs

[worn blaze]

true

[eager sigil]

you can't forget the bmw sauber

[worn blaze]

I mean it was practically useless in dirty air but it was. pretty good on the straights

I dident

the cars look larger than the modern ones idk why

[eager sigil]

yeah the 2006-2008 cars gave off so much dirty air as well

[worn blaze]

dident know that

[eager sigil]

well i mean
again
look at all the aero they had

[worn blaze]

fair point

I was thinking about getting a model of the chassis of a 2008 car

would look cool as hell

[shut echo]

halo maybe?

[worn blaze]

nah they just look more squareish and bulkier

[astral snow]

<@&781898349006684170> self promo

[twin geode]

.warn 1437462120127004753 no self promo please.

[paper wing]

light.670_86138 has been warned, this is their first warning.

[astral snow]

thanks you

[twin geode]

because self promo is cringe as fuck

imagine being so cringe you need to spam random discords for attention instead of making a good server lol

i literally attend uni full time + have a job

something you should try <3

[silver raft]

cosmic is just that tuff

also just use disboard or smth instead of advertising on random servers

[worn blaze]

@tall wyvern I have a question I need to dm you about

[white blaze]

F1 2026 power unit regulations are as follows (for a 768kg F1 car) :
ICE : 400kW
MGU-K : 350kW
no MGU-H
Total battery energy allowed to recharge per lap : 8.5MJ (9MJ for overtake mode)
Maximum Delta of State of Charge : 4MJ
Boost button: Functions as the “battery use” button allowing the driver to use the battery power strategically
Overtake mode: It permits the driver to harvest an extra 0.5MJ of battery energy the following lap given the driver has been chasing the driver in front by a second. It is used via the same button but functions as the overtake mode.
Here are the batter power taper off scenarios for both boost and overtake modes:
Boost mode : 350kW until 290kmph, tapers off to 300kW at 300kmph, to 250kW at about 330-340kmph and drastically tapers to 0 at 345kmph
Overtake mode: 350kW until 345kmph and tapers drastically to 0 at around 355kmph

Please let me know if I understand the PU regulations well 😭😭

[rustic elbow]

almost (I see you fixed some stuff since I looked into the regs again, nice)

• ICE power isn't a fixed 400 kW but it's (fuel) energy flow limited, so if they increase the thermal efficiency, they can also increase the power output
• the amount you can recharge per lap can also be decreased to 5MJ per lap in Qualifying and Sprint Qualifying if "the FIA determines that the harvesting strategies required to achieve the above limit are excessive"
  additionally:
• there's a very gradual taper (50 or 100 kW/s, depending on the track) to the power demand under conditions other than the one described above (i.e. when the driver is about to run out of energy or it's determined that it's advantageous to not use the full 350 kW until the prescribed limit)
• maximum recharge in full-throttle situations is -250 kW

[white blaze]

ye I just figured out and looked at the P(kW) formula for boost modes :

∙    P(kW) = 1800 – 5 × speed (kph) when speed < 340kph
∙    P(kW) = 6900 – 20 × speed (kph) when speed ≥ 340kph

and I realised, at 330kmph, the MGU-K power sits at about 150kW and at 100kW when at 340kmph

and coming to the override mode, the P(kW) formula is :

P(kW) = 7100 – 20 × speed (kph) when speed < 355kph, and 0kW when speed ≥ 355kph

for which I realised, it is 350kW until 337 (not 345kmph) and the starts tapering off to 0 when at 355kmph

which essentially explains why overtake mode is beneficial in providing more acceleration, hence overtaking opportunities

[white blaze]

thanks for this info ❤️

[fair heath]

better pic

[wintry forge]

Hey all - I wrote my first piece for a Substack I am launching to discuss technical F1 matters, plus race previews and recaps.
The first post is on the MGU-K - how the 2026 regs shifts the balance towards this energy system and what that means for drivers and performance engineers.
Feel free to take a look and subscribe!
https://theovercut.substack.com/p/how-the-2026-mgu-k-rewrites-f1-strategy

[crimson saffron]

I am definitely going to read that. Me too I'm on substack 🙃

[wintry forge]

Awesome! Drop your link

[crimson saffron]

https://substack.com/@diaryofsuma?invite

[drowsy spire]

to make it a more attractive read; add the behind the scenes scenarios,meaning the several 100s of data architects/ engineers sitting in Woking, England and revising our data-driven approaches but with a clean slate ( since we don’t have any prior seasons telemetry to utilize for the new regulations).

[wintry forge]

Definitely interesting to consider the slate of assumptions each team will be building into their models, and how quickly these will be invalidated by new telemetry

I’ll certainly revise this when I can get hold of some live race data

For instance we assumed +20% braking time, but this is a broad and in some cases liberal assumption

[plucky kettle]

can someone explain to me what is the purpose of the new thingy on the sf-26's diffuser without using complex terms?

[worn blaze]

picture?

[white blaze]

such an insightful article! I would want to know the source from which you picked up the 0.35MJ recovery per second during braking metric

Also , you mentioned “Cars deploy energy faster than they can harvest”, which in theory, is correct because in 2026, a full 4MJ allowed battery deployment can be exhausted in 350kW x 4MJ = 11.43 seconds, which is substantially lower than the per lap recovery (24.3 seconds).

Is this considering the fact that FIA can change the Power taper to either 50kW/s or 100kW/s depending on the track?

[rustic elbow]

350kW for 1s = 350000Ws = 350kJ = 0.35MJ

[white blaze]

oh lol my bad, thanks

was able to calculate 350kW times 4MJ but not that lmao

[torn trout]

https://x.com/i/status/2024191662692384842

Holiness (@F1BigData)

According to telemetry, during Stroll's accident, the gearbox reached 60th gear

X · Feb 18, 2026, 6:37 PM

😭

[karmic sand]

what would cause such a weird telemetry reading? integer overflow???

[vale python]

guys can someone explain the difference of aston martin's design like ong i cant see the difference

thanks

i wont be able to sleep if no one answers

i was js watching the pre season test

and like i can visualize the airflow for other cars but not theirs

[narrow terrace]

what if with the ferrari rear wing you brake too late and the rear wing still has to rotate back

[feral flame]

I mean they can manually deactivate it before the corner

with drs too, Suzuka being an example that comes to mind, monaco into T1, drivers intentionally used to switch off drs before going on the brakes

[narrow terrace]

fair enough

[worn blaze]

whats with ferraris rotating rear wing

it feels really unnessecary

[worn blaze]

yeah but what even is the point

if the airfoils inverted then its less efficient isn't it

plus rotating creates drag

usualy even if drs is off the wing still produces df
this would produce less df

and why would they want lift tho

that just makes the car unpredictable and harder to control

[timber forum]

Oh trust me it's one of the best innovations on the grid

They got +8 to 10 kph on the straights

And can brake way later now as well

[worn blaze]

where you get those states from

stats

[timber forum]

F1 explained it

[worn blaze]

where

all I heard em say was

[timber forum]

They posted a video

[worn blaze]

its testing

lemmenceck

[worn blaze]

there are three

which ine

the latest one doesn't say anything about seconds gained

[timber forum]

Welp I was kinda wrong but it's an estimation

[worn blaze]

no vro u js made that up😭

plus even if it worked its a bad configuration

they could have made elements change aoa

idk why theyre rotating it entirly

[karmic sand]

did that number come from that Italian newspaper? i don't see that number on official f1

[mighty mist]

Probably rotating in the direction that has less resistance against the wing. Meaning less effort to close the wing than to open it. And they probably would get more benefit from the higher top speed than they lose from having a bit of a brake effect when moving it

[worn blaze]

we dont really know the last part yet

[worn blaze]

but thags not what I meant

rotating the wing entirely creates larger drag and would also be more inefficient

they could instead just adjust eaither the angle of attack of the wing

or the elemnts

the best technique would be giving the wing zero camber

that way they could generate downforce
lift or have zero effect depending on what they put up

[feral flame]

Sam Collins, Ruth Buscombe literally everyone on the F1TV crew quoted the 7-10 km/hr figure

but ok some random dude on discord knows more 👍🏻

[worn blaze]

yeah true they did

[worn blaze]

that doesn't do anything aginst my statement eaither lmao

its still an inefficient solution

they probably would have done what I said had it been easier to manufacture these parts

[feral flame]

i bet all teams want you

[timber forum]

Lmao

[mighty mist]

They’re not allowed more than the two configurations. It’s one setting for downforce mode and one for the straights/low downforce. They’re free to change the angle in either mode and how they rotate to get to each mode though

[worn blaze]

I know. my point was you could have it in a high df configuration once
and then a lift or zero effective camber configuration

[mighty mist]

Yeah isn’t that what they did

[worn blaze]

kind of
I just found it weird that they tilted it entirely because that creates more drag

[mighty mist]

I heard something about this upside down wing also pushing air toward the diffuser region, which counters the negative effects from how the diffusers usually work

[worn blaze]

really?

lemme see

yeah it'd definitely create more downwash

[mighty mist]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/923798895581089822/1474063584395923536/image.png?ex=69987c31&is=69972ab1&hm=f15e63d59eb93e534cc52bdd98d48f35ea637d682580a6919904a9c244dbe854&

Basically to counter that turbulence

[worn blaze]

ah mbmb

I thought it was just to create less df and get higher speed

I was thinking this

because an inverted airfoil creats more lift/is more efficient and predictable than a flipped one

thanks

[mighty mist]

They probably designed it to be efficient for that purpose instead of just inverting the old shape

[worn blaze]

true

[karmic sand]

where did that 7-10km number even come from though? I remember where it came from but there was no additional data for where they got that number from

and nowadays reporters will just all blindly repeat each other so forgive me for being a bit skeptical

it's cool as hell don't get me wrong but damn, facts are apparently difficult

[amber kraken]

https://x.com/F1/status/2024437513033490506

Formula 1 (@F1)

You spin me right round! 😵‍💫

Here's Ferrari's innovative solution to moving the upper flap of the rear wing as part of this season's active aero introduction 👀

#F1 #F1Testing

▶ Play video

X · Feb 19, 2026, 10:54 AM

[woven cove]

Ok so who have small turbos and who has the bigger one cause apparently its making a big difference during race starts

[echo hemlock]

Ferrari showed their hand too early. Everyone is going to copy it if the FIA doesn’t ban it first

[hardy talon]

its not like they can copy something for the engine as easily

[timber forum]

It's not as easy as you think

You gotta make it work

And not destroy the wing

[plucky kettle]

i was just wondering right now about this ferrari macarena wing and i thought of another way of activating it that might be more reliable or change literally nothing

i tried it using just a sheet of paper cut in half but ill try to draw what im thinking on a very basic way

[plucky kettle]

it didnt come out how i imagined it to be but try to think like this
red side: front/hp side
blue side: back/ibm side
black box: endplate

instead of doing a 180 degree turn clockwise isnt it better to do a 90 degree turn anticlockwise which will do basically the same thing?

it would briefly make the angle of attack higher tho

(i couldnt really draw the 2nd square on my method but just mirror the moving plane from ferrari's method)

[rustic elbow]

Anti-clockwise wouldn't work, even without the slot gap separators, the leading edge of the flap would strike the trailing edge of the main plane.

[eager sigil]

i think theyre doing it to reduce rolling resistance

did anyone say that before?

cos if it's lifting the rear wheels up slightly then there's a smaller contact patch and such

[worn blaze]

I think its definitely a part of it but theyre also directing the airflow

[eager sigil]

yeah that's

that's how wings work

[worn blaze]

you realise

normally that the downwash would be

upward

the wings are negatively cambered

this makes it so the airflow is directed downwards

"It appears to be directing exhaust flow to the underside of the rear wing main plane, but it is almost certainly also energising the airflow exiting the diffuser in that central part of its width.

However, this unique feature is built upon another – one that was already on the car in the first Bahrain test: lower bodywork which extends the diffuser expansion ramp further back than the regulation rearmost point for the diffuser. This bodywork – separate from the actual physical diffuser – effectively makes the diffuser longer and therefore more effective in speeding up the underfloor’s airflow and thereby increasing downforce."

[eager sigil]

what

[worn blaze]

in car wings the airfoil is flipped

[eager sigil]

i know what downwash is

[worn blaze]

so wdym what

[eager sigil]

i thought you meant upward as in airflow went upward and in that case that's bad

[worn blaze]

oh no I dont mean bad

[eager sigil]

it's ok

[raven dock]

Low-key, this simple technology F1-style car is starting to cook

Ignore my wheels and suspension being placeholder stuff right now, when it comes time to build an actual model and not a show-car, it will be improved

[eager sigil]

what did u use to make this

wait is this 22 or 26

[raven dock]

It's neither

It's in autodesk software

3ds max

But it's meant to be a simplified look of the 26 cars

I still have yet to build the back of the frame, the halo, the actual cockpit area and everything

Ph and it also has a physical engine build that I calculated

It currently is driven by a V6 engine, turbo-hybrid, with a 70-30 split to power, where the ICE itself is pushing out 700 HP and the motor unit is pushing out 300 horsepower, with a compression ratio of 16.5:1, and 1.8L capacity, driving at a maximum of 16,500 RPM, and producing an insanely guttural scream of a noise.

[worn blaze]

how do you make the wings?

ts is hard gah daum

[feral flame]

• 🔴Corner-Mode (Traditional):
  Max downforce, moderate drag

• 🟢Parachute-Mode (90°): downforce drops to ~0, drag skyrockets, possibly helping slow the car at the start of braking (🔵Straight → 🔴Corner) when speed and drag are highest

• 🔵Straight-Mode (180°): wing faces the OPPOSITE direction. With a cambered flap, this minimises drag… and even generates lift!

Ferrari tailored the rear end to exploit this:
-Highly cambered wing profiles → rotation massively reduces drag
-Exaust deflector→ gases hit the wing’s lower side, boosting downforce in 🔴 Corner Mode and helping cancel drag in 🔵 Straight Mode

Possible effects:
✅Less drag in Straight-Mode
✅Higher drag at braking start
✅Reduced rolling resistance on straights
⚠️Less stable initial braking?
⚠️Higher tyre wear on straights?

credits: @FDataAnalysis https://x.com/FDataAnalysis?t=SkwbXCuUJdPjOEeZVu_oNQ&s=09

Formula Data Analysis (@FDataAnalysis) on X

| 📖F1 Understanding Starts by Clicking Follow! | 📈Learn To Read F1 Telemetry Data | ⚙️ Motorsport Performance Engineer / Motorcycle Dynamics PhD |

X

[timber forum]

I mean why would it put more tyre wear on straights since it creates lift ?

And so the tyres supposedly have less weight on them

[worn blaze]

it does?

damn good question

[timber forum]

Yeah it does generates a bit of lift

[worn blaze]

yea but why does it wear out the tyres

im surprised too

[timber forum]

I don't think it does tho does it ?

[worn blaze]

you said it does

whered you get that from?

oh it says it

mbmb

[timber forum]

Lmao

[shell moon]

hello everyone

first time i ask something in here

whats the difference between dirty air and slipstream?

they seem like the same thing to me but one is good and one is bad

how do they both work

[tall wyvern]

Low pressure wake is good for drag and bad for downforce

[worn blaze]

to be more precise
the wake behind an f1 car is low pressure and turbulent (dirty)

what happens on straight is that this low pressure air decrese the resistance on the car behind so it faces less force while driving forward

but on turns you need higher pressure air for the aerodynamic surfaces to work properly (ie create predictable and large down force)

however this air is low pressure and dirty like I said so the wings dont get smooth or plenty airflow to work properly

[raven dock]

You want a step by step guide to my process?

[worn blaze]

if thats not sarcasm then sure!

[azure wind]

both are the same thing

the name changes on the situation

if its a corner then its dirty air

if its a long straight its slipstream

[shell moon]

so dirty air is actually a good thing on straights?

but the issue is corners

[azure wind]

Yes

Essentially as the person above explained dirty air reduces the drag and downforce both

On straights it's a win-win

Corners not so much

[shell moon]

how does wind affect f1 cars

[timber forum]

If it's a head wind, you can brake later and use more of the tyres
Of it's a tail wind, you have more speed but less downforce
If it's a side wind or whatever you say it, it can either help you taking a corner or making it way more difficult

[south sage]

Wow this server has a technical section

This is my kind of channel

[stray anvil]

This year's regulations require energy to be recovered and stored by lifting and coasting through corners and at the end of straights, but which is more advantageous: a V-shaped or a U-shaped design?

Is V-shaped trail braking with engine braking the most advantageous?

[south sage]

I believe a U is a longer line so U is better for braking to recover battery, U is also better for cornering, and both are worse for my viewing experience because these hybrid powertrains are trash

[stray anvil]

Thank you. That was very helpful.

[topaz lion]

where did they pull those numbers from

why did f1 not have percentages for the brakes, unlike throttle till 2025 british gp?
it only had whether the driver was applying brakes or not, which we know is wrong, so why didn't they have percentage sensitivity?

[feral flame]

telemetry + physics 🤷🏻

[topaz lion]

how do they get the drag coefficient from telemetry???

[feral flame]

multiple reasons

• brakes work on pressure (measured in bars or kilograms of force, the brake pedals are also very stiff so the brake pressure quickly goes from 0 to max pressure (unlike throttle where you gradually increase the pressure)

• a driver's braking technique - when they hit the brakes, how fast they hit peak pressure, and how they release it (trail braking) is a major performance differentiator. Teams would obviously want to keep the data private (well as private as they can)

[feral flame]

combining telemetry and physics, complex calculations

[topaz lion]

and now suddenly how did they get that data? but we still can't use it in multiviewer or fastf1

[feral flame]

they always had it, I think most teams wanted to keep it private

[topaz lion]

but it's there in the f1tv broadcast

now

[feral flame]

"wanted"

[karmic gate]

wasup

[worn blaze]

where can you get telemetry from?

[naive olive]

Did a kart race a few days ago, did all the tech and drove extremely efficiently and forced my way into first place

But not all the karts were made equally

My best friend just used his superior engine in the straight area to overtake

Smh

[naive olive]

He looked like ts when he overtook me from the left

[south sage]

Should’ve had the patty wagon

[naive olive]

I ate it unfortunately

[sinful bramble]

Can someone help me figure out why a car would want lift?

(Except at Le Mans ofc)

I’m just confused about Ferraris new wing, I keep seeing stuff about it on insta and the like

I understand wanting high drag, high downforce, and low drag states

But lift?

[timber forum]

Because the rear of the car gets elevated, meaning the air under the floor gets even cleaner

And more speed

On the straights

[sinful bramble]

ahhhh

ok

makes more sense

[ashen thunder]

can downforce be too much in a car? I understand it will make the car more stable but can't it reduce the lateral force and make the car slower?

[timber forum]

Depends if the track you are is supposed to be low downforce or no

[astral snow]

Yes.
Downforce is a balancing act. Too much downforce means not enough speed for straights. Not enough downforce means not enough speed for corners.

Different tracks have a different ideal lift/drag ratio; this is a measure of aerodynamic efficiency. Keep in mind L/D ratio and downforce are somewhat correlated because downforce is negative lift, and more of either positive or negative lift induces more drag. F1 cars can and will sacrifice aerodynamic efficiency for more downforce, which leads to a lower L/D ratio (higher is generally better).
On some tracks straights are more prominent than corners and vice versa: Monza would be more beneficial with a higher L/D ratio because it’s more straight-centric so it requires less downforce. Monaco would be more beneficial with a lower L/D ratio because it’s more corner-centric so it requires more downforce

[south sage]

That’s why ground effect is so powerful you can make downforce while preserving aero

[rustic elbow]

Technically, all F1 cars operate in ground effect and use it to their advantage.
Something interesting about the cars with underfloor tunnels is that they were, in a way, downforce limited, due to the porpoising, so in that case there was such a thing as “too much downforce.“

[astral snow]

Yeah and people get this confused because they think ground effect is a mechanical device like a diffuser. It is not. All thats changed is that its moved back to a flat-floor design like pre-2022

That era stil had ground effect, it just wasn't the primary method of generating downforce

[brave vine]

Who has the best aero after testing

[timber forum]

No one knows

[rustic elbow]

Give me an air tunnel, a few engineers, all cars and a few days and I‘ll tell you

[stray anvil]

This year, the quality of the PU will have a big impact on the car's performance. Aerodynamics is what makes the most of a car that has successfully integrated the PU and the body.

In other words, no matter how good the aero is, if it's not well integrated with the PU and the body, it won't perform well. So it's difficult to judge whether the aero is good or bad.

[stray anvil]

Good aero means other teams will start copying it. The team being copied is correct.

And It's hard to gauge what's best because there's a difference in team direction between specializing in aerodynamics in a straight line or in a corner.

[brave vine]

Yeah

And we’re so far away regulation wise from the ground effect era

yall hear about the Ferrari revving their engine for 20 sec after testing

[ripe marten]

Bro expecting Is to read his new book

[astral snow]

ok

[raven dock]

No it was genuine!

Sorry its taken me a while, I've been doing a bunch of engine work at college

[worn blaze]

thats alright
ive been meaning to learn how to make curved surfaces because if I wana make aerobased projects im gonna have to figure em out

its better if yiud give me some resources tho

[raven dock]

Do you use 3ds max?

[worn blaze]

no actually
onshape

[eager sigil]

why 1.8l instead of 1.6l?

[raven dock]

1.8 sounds better

Also because it allowed me to round the power easier, with more performance capable (according to the sim)

[placid lion]

I wonder why there's a "cross" in some 90's onboard cameras

[eager sigil]

2.0?

there's already a 2.0l rally category, so...

[raven dock]

1.8 makes a better sound

[eager sigil]

one-point-eight

yeah i can see why

[raven dock]

From the outside it sounds like the cars from f1 22, and then on board it sounds really smooth

And it's just a much easier and predictable power curve with the compression ratio

[eager sigil]

f1 22 sound implies mgu-h i think

[raven dock]

To drive the turbo

With some anti lag properties

Kind of like making a rally engine f1 spec now I think about it

Sounds similar to this one when I just dropped the sound of a Mercedes engine into the R25 and didn't realise it would take on the original RPM

[eager sigil]

mgu-h is good, ik they dropped it for "simplifying" the pu but like the cars have more dependence on batt than even lmp1 and lmp1 couldnt keep the ers full without mgu-h

[raven dock]

Mgu-h is vital

[eager sigil]

interesting