F1 Wheelbases | Merc go long, Red Bull go short

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Why do some teams choose to make their cars so long and others prefer a shorter car? What difference does it make?
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[@chainbear]

Special Black Friday deal! Every purchase of a 2-year plan will get you 4 additional months free. Go to nordvpn.org/chainbear and use our coupon 'chainbear' at checkout.

[@chillaah2000]

Only 76L tank for 110kg fuel? That means the fuel is much more dense than water. I thought the fuel has a density of around 0.75kg/L. So they are not running regular high octane fuel at all.

[@LiamNI]

0:37 - "..... It'll even work from China....." Bullshit. I have Nord. I lived in China for 6 years. It worked about 20% of the time. Just moved to Philippines this year where it actually does work (but then that's not an achievement as the Internet isn't blocked). If they're gonna say they work in China, they should be honest about how often they don't work in China.....

[@eamonahern7495]

It's bad enough that we have to sit through a paid promotion in the video but to be interrupted by unskipable ads during the video as well is a bit much. It should be either one or the other. I might purchase that nord vpn if there's an ad blocker on it because of that.

[@Jafmasterflash]

Another awesome & informative vid absolutely love these 👏🏻

[@jonhill7081]

@@chillaah2000 Remember that the 110kg has to include all the fuel in the pipes as well. ;)

[@Kris_T_]

I'm a bus driver, not only do you sit far forward of the front axle, but you also have to be aware that your rear overhang will swing in the opposite direction, and with the width of the vehicle and length of overhang in mind, this could encroach upon the neighbouring lane or pavement/sidewalk. On top of that the tighter arc driven by the rear axle is massively exaggerated. In a car, provided you get the front around a bend, you can be pretty sure the rear will follow, but in a long vehicle, you not only have to 'pass' your turn before you steer, but you have to be aware of the arc your rear wheels will follow to avoid cutting the corner. So at the back you have to worry about your wheels cutting too tight and your tail swinging too wide simultaneously. And all this is happening 30 feet behind you.

[@riccardoorlando2262]

Thank you.

[@therealjaypowell]

Is that a hard thing to master or does it come fairly quickly with practice?

[@dyslexofficial2798]

@@therealjaypowell i would assume it comes pretty easy with practice. I used to ride city busses a lot and none of them ever seemed like the worlds greatest drivers

[@craigezard7344]

Its even worse for agricultural vehicles as some of the trailers they attach like a plough dont pivot but may add 20ft to the length of the vehicle beyond the rear wheels therefore the whole attachment will be longer then the tractor its self. Sometimes if you stop and put full lock on the end of the trailer will cover the whole lane coming the over way. This is particularly annoying when cars behind you dont understand why you are not making your turn. Its because you would kill the driver coming the over way

[@Vanta_Blue]

Now imagine having a 36' trailer behind you. Truck driving is fun as well, even more so when reversing.

[@chainbear]

for the record I wasn't alive in 1977 and never saw Led Zepellin...

[@frostpaixao]

i just bursted laughing when you said it and couldn't hold a "no, you did not!"

[@LunarPenguin42]

So when were you born? I mean the which year?

[@Pique147]

2 p's, 1 l. "Zeppelin Rule!" - Otto.

[@undergroundmonorail]

I liked the joke good song too

[@DuckReconMajor]

aw

[@Olivyay]

Therapist: long McLaren with 3 bargeboards doesn't exist and it can't hurt you. Chain Bear:

[@paddy5423]

As a bus driver who only recently passed my test I can confirm that this steering phenomenon is indeed very weird.

[@cameron_white4]

Lmao, last time I recall Mercedes opting for s shorter wheel base... they were flipping left right and center around Le Mans

[@neonicplays]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@definitelynotafurryatall8618]

they won't make that mistake again LMAO

[@rockzs74r]

Mercedes already Give Mark Webber wing even before he joined Red Bull

[@10shatrunjay]

I started saying Pivot as soon as I saw that sofa diagram

[@elGa_tUrRo]

Shut up shut up SHUT UUUUPP!!

[@mikeuuuytffvghjjoopoiytf]

PIVAT

[@trafalgarlaw9265]

@@elGa_tUrRo 1a

[@sapperstang]

Me too.

[@lancereyesromero7811]

@@elGa_tUrRo -I think it won't pivot anymore. -YOU THINK????! YOU THINKKK???!

[@gabor6259]

Another well-explained topic, I learned something.

[@shinmon9486]

Wheel-explained topic

[@seankirby8892]

Thats something public schooling failed to do for millions of kids

[@johnkaragounis1957]

@@seankirby8892 public school is useless for people who want to become more than average in life

[@Undivided_X]

Ready? Time for a pop quiz...which year's concert was Bear talking about?

[@DRDREAMYBULLMDSBROTHER]

@@Undivided_X 2015

[@SoudipanMaity]

That 'Friends' reference totally had me. 😂

[@mwmmatt1]

Whoever thought of the term Cybersec Security at Nord didn’t hear it said out loud did they? 😂

[@Kacper_Kolodziejczyk]

Chain bear, something went wrong here at 2:58 you show 2014 as 69 litres for 100kg of fuel and for 2019 76L for 110kg. You multiplied rather than divided! Silly you! It should actually be closer to 128L and 141L respectively!

[@zupperm]

Oh good you catched this I thought those numbers looked weird.

[@matthewlee5423]

But gasoline is less dense than water

[@rjfaber1991]

Given that petrol has a lower density than water, that did indeed strike me as very odd...

[@ak06041]

How much is 1litre of petrol in kg terms?

[@rjfaber1991]

@@ak06041 Octane has a density of 703 g/L, so the density of petrol will be somewhere around that figure. The exact density will probably be different from team to team, because the Esso fuel used by Red Bull (just to give an example) has a different composition than the BP fuel used by Renault or the Shell fuel used by Ferrari, but these variations ought to be pretty minimal. I think that across the board, you're probably safe with about two significant figures, so 0.70 kg/L

[@GuzziHeroV50]

As a bus driver, I never expected to see an explanation of bus wheelbases in one of your videos! Its true, and kinda weird the first few times you are turning and sitting over a pavement. I was always told - overshoot then oversteer ;)

[@Divine_Evil]

1:00 real start of video!

[@guttsu]

Your animation game has always been on-point, but damn it just keeps getting better. I know that many of us are more visual learners, so it helps tremendously to understand exactly what you're talking about!

[@Rowdy_D70]

I can't wait for 2022, because the current "long boys" are ridiculously long. I like cars that have short wheel bases.

[@ElliWoelfin]

I like cars with long ones >:(

[@Renee_R343]

Yeah, but there's no way you could see the difference of a 3 inch decrease (merc), far less the 1 inch decrease (Red bull). The cars would need to be a foot or more shorter in my mind. No real difference if a bus has 23 rows of seats or 22, its still a bus. If you get what I'm trying to say.

[@Rowdy_D70]

@@Renee_R343 I get what you mean. Based off of what I've seen, the new regs will make the cars quite a bit shorter. It might just be my eyes.

[@Renee_R343]

@@Rowdy_D70 Maybe I misunderstood what was said in the video, but the 3 to 1 inch decrease across the field were based on current and the upcoming 2022 regs. So basically no visual change to speak of.

[@_RobertS]

If you have seen renders of the 2022 cars and think they look shorter, remember the wheels will be 18 inches (up from 13) and the overall diameter of the tires will go up from 670mm to 720mm. So the wheelbase will appear to be shortened more than it actually is, because it will be fewer tire diameters in length so to speak. And that is what the eye will see. I'm in favor of smaller cars in general, partly because at the same actual speed they will move more car-lengths per second, which looks faster.

[@Ancovg]

F1 shouldn't only push towards shorter wheelbases for better racing but also smaller width and lighter cars.

[@piast99]

lighter car - of course, but smaller width - in my opinion: big no.

[@johnkaragounis1957]

@@piast99 we don't need to go back to 1,80m width. but 1,90 would be the sweet spot imo. combined with 5m maximum length.

[@selder_7]

I’m all for tenuously in steering Wallace and Gromit clips

[@colebaker___]

This is the only channel that explains things in a smart enough way to make me feel like I’ve learned something while also not dumbing everything down to where I still don’t know what I came here to learn

[@matthannah4621]

Something tells me well be seeing more fuel cell regs after grosjeans near death experience on Sunday

[@ethanhuffman4463]

I might have misunderstood the video, but I think longer wheelbases don't actually allow longer diffusers because of the regulations limiting where the floor must be flat and how far behind the rear wheels a diffuser can go. (Technical Regulations 3.7.1 and 3.7.7)

[@Bahamuttiamat]

The regs stipulate where the ramp of the diffusor beginnings and it's height but the velocity of the air will increase substantially as it has to travel a longer distance before that point. Redbull with their shorter car generates similar floor downforce by increasing the expansion zone with rake. Both team accomplish similar results but in entirely different ways.

[@johnkaragounis1957]

it's half true. the size of the diffuser itself is limited of course. but with a bigger floor area you can get a better airflow to the diffuser, so that the diffuser can work better.

[@aeroabhiram]

5:45 expected the "PIVOT" reference to Friends cos that's what was going on in my head as soon as I saw the turning sofa animations :D 5:50 did he just throw in a tongue-in-cheek reference to "Dark" there with the "22 years" and "22 years years before that" comment!

[@grdprojekt]

2022 Other team wheelbase: 3500-3580mm Merc wheelbase: 3601mm for good measure.

[@Joe-po8rx]

That 1977 reference was top class

[@Pique147]

Did he say he saw 'the' Led Zeppelin though? What about the Pink Floyd or the Iron Maiden?

[@Joe-po8rx]

@@Pique147 check out AM radio by Everclear

[@Pique147]

@@Joe-po8rx Haha, Ok now I get it.

[@Timberwolf69]

@@Pique147 He said he saw the Led Zeppelins... Gave me a little giggle.

[@kevinwacharapol7092]

@@Pique147 What about Talking Heads!? Such a missed opportunity. They literally have an album called 77 released in 1977

[@Luis-tx5ii]

A shame that Ferrari changed from a short wheelbase of 2017 to a longer wheelbase from 2018 onwards, their 2017 car looked so nimble and beautiful to look at imo

[@VwR28]

Mercedes are just compensating

[@anidiotinaracingcar4874]

2:57: values for 2014 and 2019 are wrong (you multiplied by the density instead of dividing)

[@AriesUmbra]

really good spot 👍

[@R4M_Tommy]

Yeah, I noticed that immediately.

[@treyhegel2594]

Great video dude. You always do a great job making stuff that I would never even think of super easy to understand

[@apfeltortelini4465]

Ty for the well edited video and well explained topic with your nice and calm voice ^^

[@Kualinar]

I remember that, from the 50's to the 70's, several, if not most of the cars, had different suspension configurations that altered their wheelbase. For the Monaco Grand Prize, the wheel where shifted inward. In some cases, by as much as 30 cm relative to the «normal» configuration. Them, for the Monza race, the wheel where pushed front and back to give them about 10 to 15 cm longer wheelbase than for the regular wheel base.

[@juliuss2056]

3:00 shouldn’t the fuel tanks be about 150 Liters in Volume for the 2019 season? 110 kg of petrol takes up about 150 Liters and I can’t imagine that F1 fuel is twice as dense.

[@LatiosBlade]

Longer cars have a likeliness to S🅱in you mean? Ferrari: SOMEBODY WRITE THAT DOWN!

[@antagony98]

I can't wait for your video breaking down how Grosjean survived that crash.

[@disguisedhuman]

Yeah, It might sound wierd. But I want to see an analysis of how he survived.

[@guenthersteiner9252]

and how the car exploded and broke in half

[@icewallowcome1276]

But if he doesn't cuz' of respect for Grosjean thats ok.

[@guenthersteiner9252]

@@icewallowcome1276 He also did for Hubert. And Grosjean didn't even died. I think its important to do some analyses so we can learn about the seriousness of a crash like that. And mabye prevent crashes like that in the future

[@businessgoose4355]

I also can’t wait for Chain Bear’s analysis. While waiting, I found this video that nicely explains what happened. kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3LIgnucrNmla9U

[@liamburgess5029]

Smaller and lighter cars is what will bring good and proper racing back imo but we can’t slack on safety if the cars get smaller especially after the crash last weekend

[@thatguy9117]

Appreciate these videos as a new F1 fan this season, just trying to learn

[@tiutubanana7506]

Are you sure about the fuel tank being only 76L? i remember they increased to 110kg and the fuel density is 680kg/m*cubic, and that would give us a 161.8L fuel tank, which is a big improve compared to V8 if you keep in mind that these engine produce more power. But 76L seems ridiculously low.

[@jannadrielcervo7753]

First time I driven a van with a forward control. It felt weird, and I don't have any experience of driving one before. But as soon I driven one, I quickly adapt to it. It somehow rewire your brain to adapt to an odd driving style. Now I love driving a van.

[@swapnilsarkar5880]

PIVOT CLIP HAD ME! Nice workk!

[@TheSaarthak]

Was hoping for a video on this :)

[@squelchedotter]

57 second ad reads, wow. The companies really have gotten aggressive haven't they.

[@lcberchtold1208]

Don't forget we need them!

[@squelchedotter]

@@lcberchtold1208 That we need them is a testament to the embarrassing state of our society

[@cavemann_]

@@squelchedotter why

[@squelchedotter]

@@cavemann_ You should be able to survive as a creative without having to take money from corporations in exchange for compromising your work to spread propaganda for them.

[@cavemann_]

@@squelchedotter Yeah but money is a necessity, so it's up to companies for how free they let you be.

[@SilverScarletSpider]

F1 should not be regulating the weight distribution of the cars. If McLaren wants to run a 60/40 or if Williams wants to run a 40/60 split, then let them. Would love to see teams be able to decide for themselves if each engine layout works.

[@LawAndBedlum]

As soon as I saw the two couches approaching corners I knew what was coming..

[@valerierodger7700]

As always, great video with excellent explanations and analogies.

[@MrBuyerman]

Short and sharp. Nice one....I was alive in 1977...but I didn't see Led Zeppelin either.

[@robbieedwardes1615]

I feel the current power unit is the biggest problem with shorter cars and we unfortunately won't get any major change in that area until the new power units come in, but hopefully the 2022 aero will help enough we won't really care about how the next power unites effect the size of the cars.

[@johnkaragounis1957]

the power units aren't the problem at all. we have those engines since 2014. the 2014 mercedes was only 4,80m long (and that was even when the cars were only 1,80m wide). the teams could easily build the current cars only 5m long if they wanted, but they are stretching them as much as they can to generate more downforce.

[@That_guy_moha]

You know the video is good when I enjoyed the ad BEFORE the video! Chainbear is the best

[@sangitapol7119]

Starts at 1:00, you're welcome

[@paularonson2249]

you a g

[@An.Individual]

Thanks. Don't appreciate Nord vpn add as that is a poor vpn

[@AssassinAgent]

@@An.Individual nord vpn uses most of their money in advertising, just fractions to the app/servers, atleast it seems like it.

[@xdbetyar]

Thank you

[@the_luggage]

This is what I like! Tell me something I don't know and isn't obvious, but is something I've heard mentioned a few times. Thanks!

[@piotrstanczak8319]

Very good video. I am really into F1 but never thought about this aspect of the car.

[@zottel4590]

I am now waiting for the Grosjean crash video.

[@carmillawoo6505]

"Without compromising packages or safety structures" No clue how relevant that safety structure comment was gonna be, huh?

[@rockzs74r]

I am actually impressed that F1 Car actually only need 76 L to cover 300 KM. That's almost 4Km/L. Not that bad for 300 Km/h car

[@AlienofAndromeda]

6:38 S🅱️INALLA!!!

[@Mysterion157]

I liked the old menu system on the F1 2011 game where selecting the car you could visually see the difference of the car lengths

[@gmoneymelogaming581]

You can rotate the cars and it’ll stay like that when you flick between teams

[@jazzaero]

Thanks for informing me! Keep up the good work!

[@DaylightDigital]

Been waiting a long time for this one! Alex Albon was too lol

[@RainCity3rd]

i feel like i may have heard over the years that some or all teams bring a shorter wheelbase chassis to Monaco, they certainly bring lots of other unique bolt ones for the rather unique course...

[@BluRacer7]

Long story short; Red Bull cost themselves so much years in catching Merc by making their car smaller while Mercs make their car bigger.

[@bynahelemaal]

Probably also has something to do with newey’s hard on for that extreme rake setup?! Red bull / Mercedes ／

[@thedevil5475]

@@bynahelemaal yeah. i think the longer the car, the more difficult it is to seal up the sides of the floor. neweys philosophy is based on using a high rake so that the whole floor generates downforce. that only works if enough air stays under the car and doesn't escape on the sides.

[@afoxwithahat7846]

@@thedevil5475 but, the reason you use sideskirts is to avoid the air outside getting below the car, not the other way around

[@rohanbatra69]

that orange longboi tho

[@adityaiyer7600]

Ad ruined the perfect transition towards the song in the end😭

[@future62]

SoFa1 This channel is amazing... the graphics keep getting better and better.

[@rmalacari]

I’m a simple man, I see a new Chain Bear video, I click “watch”

[@solop9]

Love your videos, little did I expect my profession to appear in any 😅

[@amazingfan15]

5:19 ah, The Wrong Trousers. a classic :)

[@stephenbritton9297]

Chain bear, So I happen to have experience driving both supertankers and fire truck (which like busses, tend to hang over both ends) so I though your analogies are good.

[@TheMrFishnDucks]

Thank you for this informative video. Keep up the good work.

[@farizshj]

I think 2009 F1 cars are nicely packaged with good size. Now it’s like a boat

[@nolongerusing7430]

6:42 S🅱️inalla _Im sorry, but I couldnt resist making that joke._

[@WillPittenger]

Could we get a video on the Grosean crash at Bahrain?

[@infidel1993]

Oddly enough this is one of the few technical aspects of current F1 cars that I caught on to myself. Mainly because I wanted to know why Red Bull saw such a large performance boost at Monaco.

[@Bahamuttiamat]

@Robert Lorrison While it's true a physically shorter car would have an inherit advantage in slow speed corners, it isn't that simple. Tire performance, suspension, kinematics and mechanical grip can negate that advantage. Redbull doesn't have a storied history of success around monaco as often quoted. Mercedes was on pole in 12, 13, 14, 15 and 19. They won it in 13, 14, 15, 16, and 19.

[@infidel1993]

@@Bahamuttiamat yeah, I know that. Thanks for stating the obvious. The point is that, all things being equal, a shorter wheelbase is preferred around Monaco.

[@migracing8232]

@@infidel1993 No it's not. He just gave you all the points that proves it doesn't

[@infidel1993]

@@migracing8232 are you not aware of the meaning of the phrase “all things being equal”?

[@PedroFTeixeira]

Williamns engineers were taking notes.

[@huplim]

That pivot gag...

[@maartenvmaldegem]

Isn't the measurement for KG to L exactly the other way around from how you show it? 1 liter of petrol is 720 grams, so for 110 kg it'd be about 152 liters and not the 79 you listed.

[@016ekaterina]

Is his calculation based on the minimum temperature set by the FIA? It can change the weight like that

[@karashibass]

Good catch. 2:55

[@happlin2314]

1 kg of something that has the same density as water is 1 litre. 1 litre of normal petrol is about 710 - 775 grams at 15⁰C. (Thanks google) Guarenteed not what the fuel they use in F1 weighs though. But it most likely does not have the same density as water.

[@mananjoshi1289]

@@happlin2314 I think f1 fuel will be around 650-680 gram equal 1 kg as higher octane fuel is less dense

[@DuckReconMajor]

never expected to see a Friends reference here. i have a feeling we are similar age and both feeling very old now and at all times

[@sagenberg3918]

"It even works from China." Alright you convinced me

[@ErikNij]

will this new maximum well base restriction help red bull a lot? As i see it they only need to go down by 20mm to meet that threshod, and thus their car is almost unchanged. However for merc, they might have chage a lot of things, becuase as you said in the viddo, may things effect wheel base lenght.

[@alexsavastru8125]

It's not much of a downside for Merc or, looking from the other perspective, much of an upside for Red Bull. The whole chassis is changing. The underbody, the floor, the front and rear wings and the halo are also changing. Don't forget about PU regulation modifications. The engine will rev higher and the MGU-H will essentially dissapear, both of which might affect packaging. There are a lot of new changes and so nobody is really at a real advantage over the others when it comes to what they start with.

[@Bahamuttiamat]

@@alexsavastru8125 This is not true. The PU's will not rev higher nor will the H disappear. Your initial points are correct.

[@thedevil5475]

the whole car concepts will be drastically different anyway in 2022. the teams are starting from 0 in most aspects, they all have to change a lot.

[@constantinlegras769]

Brilliant as always!

[@Toropetskii]

So you didn't mention the main advantage of a longer wheelbase - the car is much harder to overtake. I guarantee you this.

[@stephenharrigan9547]

I think the volume of the fuel tanks for the 2014 and 2019 cars is a lot smaller than they actually are, since gasoline is less dense than water and 110 kg of water is 110 L, so the current fuel tanks must be bigger than 110L. Other than that though, great video as usual

[@bucketslash11]

5:32 that is still an unsolved math equation

[@Papersheepp]

Not exactly unsolved, it's just unclear whether the absolute minimum size has been found

[@lorbet2419]

great videos in your channel, what software do you use to do these drawing animation?

[@matthewvanoirschot]

Hey Chain Bear/others, can you explain the "mixed tyre set" rule? I remember Bottas only changing 3 tyres in the first Bahrain race because of a puncture, but George obviously wasn't within the rules at the second Bahrain race.

[@jv5tv515]

this merc model looking fiiiine

[@lucatarabinisolmi686]

Thanks 4 these amazing videos

[@KingofClubsMCDLXXXVIII]

0:51 ad over

[@shubhojitbose3112]

great video. one thing that confusees me ,may I know why is it required to balance the car's weight in that particular way. is it for safety reasons or just the formula

[@alextabara9150]

So if you ask me I would consider Red bull to have an advantage for 2022 knowing that they are used to shorter cars

[@CostanTheOne]

The reason why merc go long is because they didnt like the last time they had a short wheel base

[@jerrymunson4155]

Curious how you decided to use furniture to illustrate nimbleness around a corner. In that scenario a loveseat would have been the best compromise of agility and comfort.

[@SUNTZUAcademy]

If they can't make the cars significantly smaller to allow for better racing they should just make the tracks wider, I've had enough of drivers just pushing each other out. Whenever the drivers leave each other space through a sequence of corners it produces amazing battles. Either make the tracks wider or enforce drivers to drive much more fairly with penalties.

[@kleinesfilmroellchen]

This was a very British video.

[@swanner95]

If I recall, wasn't the 2018 McLaren compromised by wheelbase issues and in improved substantially when the issue was resolved in 2019?

[@alexismandelias]

With all these regulations at play, I often wonder what the teams would come up with if there were only safety-related regulations and nothing else

[@Kepe]

Same here. I'd like to see F1 replaced with a racing series that only limits the maximum length, width, height and weight of the car and otherwise the regs are just safety stuff.

[@656hookemhorns]

Fast, beautiful cars.

[@johnkaragounis1957]

simple: cars that would be way to fast to be driven by a human being, they would need to be driven by robots. just google "red bull x2010". that's what would be possible without restrictions (and that was 10 years ago...). if we want actual humans racing each other, we need to limit the speed of the cars. the current ones are near the maximum we can go to in terms of g-forces.

[@mrrolandlawrence]

classic james allen. he has been designing long wheelbase cars since i can remember. his LWB for kimi @ lotus being one example.

[@Bahamuttiamat]

Allison* James Allen is an f1 reporter. Not sure if the 2012/12 lotuses were long wheel bases.

[@disonwijeratne2532]

Just after the Nordvpn ad by chain bear(which i obviously watch) there was a fricking double unskippable ad lol.

[@1barnet1]

Density of petrol is roughly 0,8 kg/l Which would make a 105kg tank hold roughly 130Liters of fuel.

[@andrewbailey7999]

Does this VPN allow you to watch F1 races on the app despite being in the UK? Currently I'm locked out of watching races in the current season despite paying a subscription because Sky have exclusive broadcasting rights

[@nickysixx2480]

I have learned what it takes to be a bus driver

[@kiereluurs1243]

Let's speak English: Mercedes goes long, Red Bull goes short.

[@MonarchNF]

Not that is matter but I believe you got your fuel density ratio backwards; it's going to be around 750g per liter. The cars can have around 150 liters of fuel at the start.

[@_RobertS]

Another great video, but I'm going to be the dork saying "well actually" because the explanation around the diffuser size is wrong. The dimensions of the diffuser are all relative to the rear wheel center line, so a longer wheelbase has no impact of its size. If you move the rear axle forwards or backwards, the diffuser just has to move with it. In fact, basically everything in front of the front axle and behind the rear axle are fixed in size and position. The freedom all lies in the parts between the axles which is why there is an advantage in moving them further apart. A longer wheelbase gives you a larger floor that the diffuser can lower the pressure underneath, and that is what can give you more downforce - not a larger diffuser in itself.