Higher wing did'nt mak F1 slower, explanation by an expert......

[steve nielsen]

Does higher really mean slower?
2001-03-29 14:15:00


How Arrows approached the new FIA ruling on the height of the front wing.

In December 2000, the FIA announced several changes to the technical regulations for the 2001 season, primarily introduced to bring down car speeds by reducing downforce. However, a four second improvement over last year’s pole time in Melbourne and a two second difference in Sepang are currently raising a question over just what effect has been made by a higher front wing.

During 2000, the FIA ruled that the front wing (on either side of a 500mm wide central point) must sit at least 50mm from the lowest part of the underbody of the car. For the 2001 season, this has been increased to 100mm. Combined with the restriction to a maximum of three upper elements on the rear wing, the aim was to see overall downforce cut by between 25-50%, meaning cars would have less grip on the track.

For drivers, this means that overall handling of the car becomes more difficult. With less downforce the cars will not generate the same levels of grip and hence be more likely to understeer or oversteer, depending on the car’s balance.

We asked Nicolo Petrucci, Arrows’ new Head of Aerodynamics for his thoughts on the rule change.

“The new regulation results in a drop in downforce, but also drops the level of drag, so while efficiency in some areas is less, we can make other adjustments and developments to improve the aerodynamics, and ultimately give us a level of efficiency similar to last year.

“With more effort, we should be able to achieve the same level of downforce, and we will be also helped by tyre development, which will improve significantly now there are two competitors in Bridgestone and Michelin.

“I am pretty confident that at the end of the season the car will be much quicker than last year, so in this regard, we can say the regulation did not hit its target completely, certainly not in terms of slowing the car down in corners or lap times.”

So, how did Arrows handle the new rule change in developing a front wing for the A22? Was it simply a matter of finding alternative ways to maximise downforce?

Not necessarily, as a high level of downforce will also impact on the ‘pitch sensitivity’ of the car. What this means is that the peak level of car performance (usually identified through testing in the wind tunnel) will be continuously affected by the various curves and angles on different circuits.

The dilemma faced by designers therefore was how to produce a stable and less sensitive car, whilst still providing alternative means of generating additional downforce.

“Arrows decided to take a more conventional approach to developing the car from last year, making subtle changes without starting a really radical new design – evolution rather than revolution.

“The car is less sensitive at the front so it is easier for the driver to feel what the car is doing. With improved safety measures as well, they can feel more confident driving the car and be able to push more.

“Other teams decided to try very different and experimental designs, but right now it is not clear which is the best solution. Certainly, everybody is still assessing the situation and will be continuing to develop their set up as they gain more information though the year.”

Whichever route the teams have chosen to follow, lap times from Melbourne and Sepang have shown that the regulation changes have so far not had the desired effect, Jos Verstappen topping the times through the speed trap at Sepang , recorded at 194.871 mph. Performance gains generated through the tyre war between Michelin and Bridgestone, coupled with clever efforts of design teams, signal that the FIA still have a long way to go if they want to prevent F1 teams and cars from obtaining ever faster lap times.

© Arrows Grand Prix International Ltd 2001.


From the Arrows site.

It seems the higher wing made it LESS safe, the cars have higher topseed and less downforce to brake......

[enzo]

Mosley also forgot that the extra groove in the tires also means less drag (the grooves act as a 'bleed' from the high pressure wedge at ground level at the front of the tire, to the low pressure 'hole' directly behind the contact patch), AND more downforce on the tire (for basically the same reason).

So much for his great technical reasoning ability!