F1's Downwash Aero Tech Explained

The F1 season may have started off with various sidepod designs, from ramps to zero-pods to bathtubs and slidepods, but one design is prevailing as the strongest option in 2023 - downwash aero designs. With Mercedes and Ferrari both changing concepts over, and Aston Martin pushing their sidepod downwash design to the extreme, will any of it help the teams catch Red Bull, the original ramp design in 2023? Jon Noble chats with Matt Somerfield to find this out and more.
0:00 What Is Downwash?
2:23 Why Change Designs to Downwash?
3:37 Mercedes' Zero-Pods
4:35 Ferrari's Bathtub Sidepod
5:49 Why Is Downwash King?
7:54 Aston's Aggressive Design
8:57 Wider Sidepods
10:17 The Future Designs
#f1 #sidepods #aero
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[@francesco5254]

What should be underlined is that NONE of the main sidepod concepts is conceptually "wrong". They all have their pros and their cons and It's all about seeing which of the optimised solutions takes a little bit of advantage over the other ones numerically. None of us can explain why bathtubs "don't work", the only way is carefully looking at numbers that we don't have. The only thing that can be understood is what benefits each type of sidepods aims to bring.

[@justadummy8076]

It’s crazy to think that even the slowest F1 cars are among the fastest track cars in history

[@emgyee]

Have this guy more often here! It was great to hear this explanation!

[@Osprey6m]

Very good. Nice to have someone who firmly puts out his idea of what’s going on.

[@corpsecoder_nw6746]

I think some of the sidepod design is to push airflow away to create outwash and deflect the front tire wake a bit, but also to redirect air towards floor edge vortex generating cuts and flaps so that there's more air going towards that and sealing the floor effectively so that they can run higher ride heights to not stall the airflow underneath.

[@The_Curious_Cat]

I think the RB sidepods, also "protect" the top of the diffuser from uncontrolled, unpredictable airflow, like with crosswinds, during a corner and such. Also with the Coanda effect going through the sidepods you place a big part of the airflow exactly where you want, even under windy conditions. Something a more exposed floor (like the early Williams, McLaren and Mercedes floors) probably struggled with. And since the top and bottom must work together, if the top is not flowing properly, the underfloor loses performance.

[@alecmillea4539]

These two comments provide far more concrete and accurate information than the entire video. The video was a bunch of good questions answered with the most generic political responses possible containing no actual information and just enough technical vocabulary for this guy to sound like he knows what he’s talking about. I don’t know what this “experts” technical background is but judging by this and a few other videos, it’s not much.

[@mgnoodle2589]

Come on Alonso. Just win one race. Preferably the Dutch GP

[@Kessoku]

come on

[@pavise6333]

If he wins, will it break Kimi's longest wait between wins record?

[@amaccama3267]

I've been thinking that the outer side of the side pods will eventually get closer to the floor edge in an effort to maximise both outer flow and underflow of the air.

[@felixjones9198]

How can I apply this knowledge to my Evo X?

[@brandonhiggs6669]

Feels illegal to be this early

[@ntshembo]

Imagine red bull switching to zero pods next year 😅

[@walter1824]

They could have switched this year but they kept it

[@nalaunobelmoura4000]

Imagine combining the 2 concepts, assuming that they make it so packaging and cooling is not an issue, hmmm what a car that will be

[@corpsecoder_nw6746]

don't think it's gonna work.

[@nicholaschai4458]

Will all this sidepod development will cause the dirty air to return and making following and overtaking hard again?

[@javiazar]

If the ride height hadn't been raised last year, none of this shit would be happening. Put the cars back down where they belong and watch us get a real championship where 3-4 teams can win races instead of just Red Bull.

[@nickkomlev687]

Dude, u r delusional

[@ALMX5DP]

If teams could figure out how to limit porpoising, they wouldn’t have to raise the car.

[@cosmokramer4703]

Agreed. Ferrari's concept was based on running it as low as possible last year. Only worked because they were able to flex the plank though. Wish they had left TD alone

[@azure89]

@@cosmokramer4703wasn’t plank flexing illegal before td 39

[@Jay-nk6dm]

@@cosmokramer4703 ferrari was already losing performance to redbull before the technical directive.

[@richardpatton2502]

Pressure… Pressure differentials… That’s how aerodynamics work All the best to everyone

[@colinhare4722]

So what happens is they all converge after 4 years then we get one good season where there's real competition for the WDC then they change the technical regs again and only one team dominates again....

[@CT37BN]

In basic terms when you look at the shape of RBR's side pods they are almost akin to an airplane wing. Works both to direct/streamline air to the rear and also adds just enough downforce to plant the car better to the ground and stability on it's side. And the ground effect of the underfloor gives it another level of cohesion. This I think was what's missing to the Mercedes-AMG's zero side pod W13 (of last year) and 2023 Spec-A W14. It was too streamlined that it didn't have anything on it's side to give it stability during turns.

[@rolandotillit2867]

It's not just wide sidepods, it's using the regulation volume to stop air from going to the beam wing and diffuser, so it's forced to interact with the edge wing. If you cram air there, the furniture of the wheels, the wheel itself, and the edge wing all slow down that air raising the static pressure. The air underneath the edge wing however, is going much faster as it's interacting with the throat in the venturi tunnel. This difference in pressure drives a strong vortex to wrap around the edge wing. The tire then sheds it's own vortex, and we have 2 counter rotating pairs. The edge wing vortex then enters the diffuser at a lateral angle, and adds rotation to the vortex that is shed by the floor fences. It also has the added benefit of overriding the tire squirt vortex, preventing it from affecting the diffuser. The wide sidepods let you have two air streams that don't get in the way of each other, one to the edge wing, and one to the beam wing/diffuser. Sealing is an improper word in my opinion, much more accurate to say restrict. As in the flow structures under the floor don't seal air, as much as restrict it. In the same way an hourglass is a restriction for the sand that passes through it.

[@hh-jy1ld]

Perez crash… will cost RB next years or the following year’s championship. Such a costly crash.

[@moiz04]

I was thinking the same. These down wash concept are making following another car difficult. And imo against intention of these new regulations.

[@scottmeredith3359]

I love an optimized rear end too 🍑

[@rossrreyes]

Merc last year; ‘it’s not the sidepods’. Merc this spring; ‘it’s not the sidepods’. Merc this summer; ‘ohhh ok it IS the sidepods.

[@mini696]

The fact the teams have room under the sidepods prooves the cars could be smaller.

[@akagainesy]

Surely now all the teams have worked this out, Merc have the overall advantage here. Coz everything under their body work is so tightly packaged, they can have their side pods vertically any shape. Any angle of down wash or whatever shape, angle, waterslide or bathtub they can find to manipulate the air for the best aero downforce.

[@CHEGTO]

Hopefully Ferrari can make a late title charge as well as Merc and Aston finishing 4th… I’ll be okay with that for this season

[@hilroydaniels5109]

Every side pod has downwash. Do you ever see a side pod with upwash? You guys are just eager to give Red Bull all the credit. Alpine launched car in 2022 had the same downwash, but you guys only see it on the red bull car.

[@suryaray2809]

Bunny boy 😊😂

[@philliptiestopl1511]

THE OTHER CARS WERE BETTER BACK IN 2021

[@Lukepuke311]

no, the midfield actually has way better racing now and i think the 2012 cars were the best

[@philliptiestopl1511]

@@Lukepuke311 THEY DIDN'T NEED TO CHANGE THE REGS EVERYTHING WAS GOING SO WELL IN 2021 PEOPLE WERE CHANGING UP AND IT WOULD HAVE BEING GREAT IN 2022 2023 ETC ALL THE MOANING KAREN HORNER DONE ABOUT STOPPING MERCEDES AND CHANGED THE RULES TO SUIT THEM HES NOT COMPLAINING NOW PRICK BACK TO SQUARE ONE WHAT A JOKE

[@thasmandotory589]

Drs and mgu h is ruining the sport