Aerodynamics for formula 1

Extract

To anyone involved in aeronautics, Formula I cars must seem to be pretty weird devices and so, in order to explain some of the rather unorthodox aspects of FI aerodynamic design, I shall start by retracing the history of aerodynamics in FI a few years to 1968, when it was realised that greater gains could be made by increasing the tyre loads than by trying to reduce the drag. It was the tyre manufacturers who influenced this development more than anyone else, as the width of tyre being developed to generate cornering loads greater than 10 g was making any attempts to reduce drag pretty fruitless. On the average circuit only about one-fifth of the time is spent at around maximum speed and four-fifth is spent cornering, braking and accelerating, when adhesion is far more important than drag.