F duct
BRACING FORIMPACTTHE HANS DEVICE
The Head And Neck Support device was
designedby Dr Robert Hubbard in the
early 1980s, a head restraint aimedto
reduce injuries and deathsby preventing
excessive head movements in the event
of a crash. The project failedto gain much
traction until F1 looked at the device
in the wake of Roland Ratzenberger’s
death at Imola in 1994. In 1999 Mercedes
completed research on behalf of the
FIA and, after a number of American
series introduced the device, it became
compulsory in F1for the 2003 season.96 F1 RACING DECEMBER 2019
KNEE-JERK REACTION
THE F-DUCT
In pre-seasontesting in 2010 amysterious inletvent (below, right)
appeared on the McLaren MP4-25. Itformed part of theteam’s
innovative new F-duct system,whichfed air through the cockpit and
onto the rear wing (below, left). Moveable devicesto alter the airflow
over thewing werebanned but the RW80 – McLaren’s namefor it –
was a passive device. Downforce was increased through the cornerby
the airflow and the duct could be closed simplyby the driver moving his
knees, reducing drag and increasingstraightline speed.Declared legal,
manyteamsfollowed suit but F-ducts were bannedfor 2011..LET THE ‘DOWN’FORCE BE WITH YOUX-WINGS
Tyrrell introduced theseextraordinaryaerodynamicaids, christened
because of the similarityto theX-wingfi ghter inStarWars,on the 025
in 1997. Theteam, strugglingfi nancially and aboutto be takenover by
BAT, spent little money on development and the 025’s designer Harvey
Postlethwaite saw the devices – made from old, discarded wings- as aquick and cheap wayto improve the car. The thinking behind
them was that they would createextra downforce, especially when
following another car. OnlyTyrrell used them in 1997 but otherteams
experimented with them in 1998before they were outlawed.
AT ONE WITH THE TRACKGROUND EFFECT
The use of the underside of a racing carto generate negative
pressure and suck the cartowards the track, resulting in more
downforce and increased cornering speeds, wasfi rst utilised in the
1960sby CanAm sports cars with wheel-enclosing bodywork. It
wasn’t until theLotus 78 that this was madeto work on an open-
wheel single seater. With a narrow central tub and sidepods that
took up a bigger proportion of the car’s width, along the bottom of
the sidepods were ‘skirts’ and it was these skirts that made a seal
between the underbody and the road, a crucial part in propagating
negative pressure. TheLotus 79 utilised thisto win the title in 1978...BRACING FOR IMPACT
THE HANS DEVICE
The Head And Neck Support device was
designedby Dr Robert Hubbard in the
early 1980s, a head restraint aimedto
reduce injuries and deathsby preventing
excessive head movements in the event
of a crash. The project failedto gain much
traction until F1 looked at the device
in the wake of Roland Ratzenberger’s
death at Imola in 1994. In 1999 Mercedes
completed research on behalf of the
FIA and, after a number of American
series introduced the device, it became
compulsory in F1for the 2003 season.
96 F1 RACING DECEMBER 2019
KNEE-JERK REACTION
THE F-DUCT
In pre-seasontesting in 2010 amysterious inletvent (below, right)
appeared on the McLaren MP4-25. Itformed part of theteam’s
innovative new F-duct system,whichfed air through the cockpit and
onto the rear wing (below, left). Moveable devicesto alter the airflow
over thewing werebanned but the RW80 – McLaren’s namefor it –
was a passive device. Downforce was increased through the cornerby
the airflow and the duct could be closed simplyby the driver moving his
knees, reducing drag and increasingstraightline speed.Declared legal,
manyteamsfollowed suit but F-ducts were bannedfor 2011..LET THE ‘DOWN’FORCE BE WITH YOUX-WINGS
Tyrrell introduced theseextraordinaryaerodynamicaids, christened
because of the similarityto theX-wingfi ghter inStarWars,on the 025
in 1997. Theteam, strugglingfi nancially and aboutto be takenover by
BAT, spent little money on development and the 025’s designer Harvey
Postlethwaite saw the devices – made from old, discarded wings- as aquick and cheap wayto improve the car. The thinking behind
them was that they would createextra downforce, especially when
following another car. OnlyTyrrell used them in 1997 but otherteams
experimented with them in 1998before they were outlawed.
AT ONE WITH THE TRACKGROUND EFFECT
The use of the underside of a racing carto generate negative
pressure and suck the cartowards the track, resulting in more
downforce and increased cornering speeds, wasfi rst utilised in the
1960sby CanAm sports cars with wheel-enclosing bodywork. It
wasn’t until theLotus 78 that this was madeto work on an open-
wheel single seater. With a narrow central tub and sidepods that
took up a bigger proportion of the car’s width, along the bottom of
the sidepods were ‘skirts’ and it was these skirts that made a seal
between the underbody and the road, a crucial part in propagating
negative pressure. TheLotus 79 utilised thisto win the title in 1978...