THE PROTOTYPE DRS! The Story of McLaren's 'F-Duct' (2010)

Other teams were trying to find downforce. McLaren tried to LOSE it in a straight line.
The result? Was some gizmo that the FIA went "Lads this is genius we're goign to give it to everyone else next year."
So how did this thing actually work? I'll try to put it into simple terms.
Enjoy! And remember to like and subscribe for more!
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[@AidanMillward]

Yes. There is a red arrow pointing at a thing. I don't like this any more than you don't... But the results WILL surprise you. Shocking. Cops called. REACTION.

[@CrunchyMotorsport]

You need to add *GONE WRONG*

[@gokartbob6478]

Aidan, your absolutely the best... Thanks for all your Videos ✌😎🏁 USA.

[@Ian-oe9wp]

don't make a special hole in your car at 3 am (not clickbait)(fia angry!!!)

[@JohnSmithShields]

@Crunchy and add on the "real story" or other shite like that. Add on "they don't want you to know", and you're golden.

[@AidanMillward]

@@JohnSmithShields also put EVERY OTHER WORD in the title into CAPITALS

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

To fully cover all of Smokey's examples of finding holes in the rulebook, it would be a full-length movie. As far as I know, he never violated the regulations. Typically, sanctioning bodies would rewrite the rules after finding out some new trick by Smokey. I think Braun and Newey admired Smokey as one of the all-time greatest racecar engineers.

[@JohnSmithShields]

The original Storytime episode on him was a great listen.

[@Sephiroth5200]

As Darrell Waltrip said, "You don't want to be a rule breaker, you want to be a rule maker."

[@captaintoyota3171]

Fact so many think of others and not smokey is a disgrace

[@paulanderson9650]

His book was an absolute trip. All over the place, but he goes over most of his cheats.

[@Lazbotable]

In one his previous videos Aidan has stated that most of the rule book in NASCAR exists because of Smokey.

[@grrfy]

"so it was operated by a Button then" very nice 😄

[@TheRacingBoy1]

Williams also presented a f-duct, but they left the 'd' away Get well soon Aidan and have a healthy 2023

[@JohnSmithShields]

Excellent as always. Imagine what Roberto Moreno could have done with this technology.

[@AidanMillward]

Probably would have still become a forced meme.

[@crystalracing4794]

Moreno would've broken Fangio's records. No, seriously. P.S. Aidan let's make a tribute to Bobby Moreno 🇧🇷's most underrated F1 star!

[@Ramtamtama]

@@AidanMillward it would've ended up as the "f" duct

[@Megaphone77]

It's always fascinating to learn about those that pushed the boundaries when it came to regulations. There's a great video on Secret Base about Roger Neilson and how he changed the NHL.

[@GregBrownsWorldORacing]

Thank you Sir, I never knew where the F came from, or fully kinda groked how they worked. As always, Kudos for mentioning Smokey. Those stockers, talk about some Aero Push.

[@haydenopila1177]

Thanks for all the great content!

[@andyk8232]

Happy new year. And thank you for putting out great videos like this.

[@VonBlade]

The F-Duct was a fantastic idea. I'm also in agreement that the copies were deliberately obviously activated to get them banned. The big glove thing was a joke.

[@BigBuzzman]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJe4m36QhqySb7s shows how each team activated theirs. Video notes that Alonso has one hand activating and the other adjusting the break balance.

[@VonBlade]

@@BigBuzzman Hence the famous interview reply his engineer gave about which hand he steers with :)

[@joshuawhelan9358]

@@VonBlade And now he's the head of F1, Stefano Domenicali

[@varuns00]

That teaching degree cerainly wasn't wasted @aidan

[@bram5825]

People always say the same thing when i share your videos: heck yeah! I didnt know that. Gonna keep on sharing! Amazing stuff.

[@noliyoshida7486]

Didn't know the double diffuser was a Super Aguri invention

[@Br0nzeBar0n]

Merry New Year Aidan

[@VikingGuard]

Super Thanks!

[@SundayDriver000]

Dziękujemy.

[@deterherligt]

Great video. Minor correction: the double deck diffusers wasn’t outlawed until 2011. I think all cars drove with ddd in 2010

[@Lukeywoodsey]

Very true, they switched to exhaust blowing afterwards

[@jackconnolly5620]

@@Lukeywoodsey I think 2010 was the final year of double diffusers and the first year (in the modern era) of exhaust blowing. Red Bull had both at the start of the season I thought?

[@pkscarr]

The scary thing in some of the rudimentary f-duct copies was that not only was the left hand off the wheel to cover it, often the right hand would, at the same time, be having to be used to adjust brake bias, engine modes and other stuff on the wheel that drivers had to do throughout the lap... often they'd look from the on-board cameras to only have one or 2 fingers controlling the steering itself.

[@minibus9]

awesome video

[@adamcassimjee532]

Great video as always Aidan. Everyone said it was operated by the left knee. However, Jenson Button said he would spread his ELBOWS out like a butterfly (or a chicken ... I can't remember) on the straights, suggesting that the McLaren drivers used their left elbow to cover an opening.

[@HerbstaMagus]

When you stall a wing or wings (generally caused by air moving past the wing at an incorrect speed) on a plane the wings stop generating lift or the lift is reduced. Downforce is just the inverse of lift, a spoiler is just an upside down wing; if you stall it you reduce its inverse-lifting effect and corresponding drag.

[@sultanabran1]

nice video. reliving those days. have you done a video on the hot blown diffuser? i'll go check

[@Crashtrauma]

Thanks

[@fawwazrafif5160]

Hey Aidan are you gonna do any Super GT or any Japanese Motorsport series related video? Love the vid btw

[@adamsmethurst3613]

Thanks!

[@RobbertsTravelGuides]

1 Aidan Millward video a day keeps the doctor away! Nice video Aidan!

[@FaithlessEmoRacing]

Now time for the story of the Double DRS from Mercedes?

[@davidciesielski8251]

I really love how smart some people are!!

[@hangingchad_]

There's a fantastic mod for that VRC Renault R25 on Race Department that gives it Pirelli slicks. You get the look and feel of driving an R25 on slicks, and I love it SO much.

[@nevercommitsuicide]

oh god. VRCs already way too grippy R25 on even grippier, even more unrealistic tyres…

[@robcardwell9529]

I actually laughed out loud at the 'forty feet of fuel line' move! 👍

[@tanall5959]

I've known about that one for a while. The basketball in the fuel tank was a new one, though!

[@y_fam_goeglyd]

Hope you're feeling better soon, mate. Great video as ever. I never agreed with the banning of the duct _if placed somewhere safe_ like the McLarens. Ferrari's "answer" was an accident waiting to happen and that deserved a ban. But the Macca had a safe system and didn't deserve it. I always get annoyed with legal (and not dodgy) innovations getting banned because the other teams go whining to the FIA like a bunch of primary school kids jealous that one of the boys has brought a new toy to school that they can't get. I don't care which team invents it, either. If it's strictly legal and doesn't put any extra risk on the lives of the drivers & crew (and anyone nearby - lead shot being an example of it being a definite no!), leave it be. The other teams can catch up the following year or come up with their own ideas.

[@ianwynne764]

Hello Aidan: Get well soon. I have missed your videos.

[@kifferseal]

get well !

[@Sponge1310]

Bedankt

[@WEBBERSPADE]

Wait wait wait........Super Aguri invented the double diffuser!!???!! Woooaahhww. What a different world we would live in.

[@filipposstavro1233]

7:16 well god damn Aidan 😂😂😂

[@LegoGrandPrix13]

@2:54. 2 bad we had not a Super Super Aguri in 2009. :(

[@T_Mo271]

I love the idea of the driver plugging a hole in the cockpit with their leg.

[@PanzerFalcon2232]

I loved the FIA attitude to the F-Duct, their response to the other teams' protests was basically "Yeah? And? Go design your own if you don't like it" wouldn't see this level of engineering these days.

[@GamerFlair]

In fairness, that is generally the answer even to modern times, when something is actually just clever and legal. DAS is probably the best example of this. The stock response is that "But the FIA banned it for the following season" which is actually untrue, it was already banned for the following season before Merc designed it as the regs were already pretty much in place. The issue has always been that teams find weird fucking ways to argue stuff should be banned on safety grounds. This is what happened with the F-Duct (with iirc Ferrari and Red Bull especially lobbying that having to remove thier hands of the wheel was dangerous and so the entire concept should be outlawed) and is similar to what was happening last season with the porpoising issue, with Merc pushing hard for tech reg changes due to their car porpoising so much (and whilst I actually agree with half the argument Merc was making [that it is not correct to expect Team to self regulate in regards safety vs speed] they were pushing for changes that would be safe whilst conviently negatively impacting opponents). I do think changing regs for the following season if you feel something is far to expensive and effective for other teams to be able to copy is fine. I think the cases where this has been done in the middle of the season (engine modes) is pretty bullshit though. Whist that one was pre-cost cap (and engine related so it would be technically free of the current cap anyway) those sort of changes really need to not happen anymore, as it is going to stifle innovation as why risk designing something that might get banned when your limited on how much you can design.

[@allainangcao28]

Teams nowadays will have an aneurysm if an opposing cars makes a different sound, looks different, or the opposing teams looks so secretive for no reason.

[@dasgtr]

What little speed advantage F-Duct might have given the 2010 cars was negated by the downright dangerous methods by which drivers activated the contraption. Although the unregulated use of the gimmick should have been carried into the subsequent 'DRS', where it can used at any part of the track during 2011 & 2012 qualifying. Unlimited use of DRS should be allowed during the race to close the gap between cars and to set up an overtake, rather than to perform the actual overtake. The F-Duct, while a significant development, was minimal on the overall 2010 technical race since it was promptly banned the following year. It was a distraction to the real performance gains to be had in exhaust-blown diffusers, engine mappings, non-flexing flexible aero parts, and what appear to be 'triple-diffusers' (at least from looking at the superbly illustrated works of Giorgio Piola's tech guides). The McLaren MP4-25 ran the most extreme iteration of double diffuser but relied too much on F-Duct's minuscule gains. The Ferrari F10 was always playing catch-up, with a revised F-Duct and completely redesigned rear suspension/gearbox assembly to optimize its extreme diffuser. The Renault R30 apparently ran an F-Duct in late season that exceeded that of McLaren, but lacked the aero and diffuser to make gains. But the Red Bull RB6 was far and away the best package to feature all the aforementioned, yet having never to compromise the car to accommodate the F-Duct.

[@Ramtamtama]

They close loopholes too soon nowadays. It's become a case of "lets remove this advantage asap" rather than the old "you should've thought about this too. Make your own or shut up"

[@SteveDull]

So clever. Must have brains the size of planets

[@stake-harley]

then McLaren pulled a Ferrari China 2008 at Monza where they ran an F-Duct-less car for Lewis Hamilton. apparently the reason was to use the typical Monza 'plank' rear wing.

[@rachidsennalps]

THE BEST LE 'F-Duct

[@16vpaddy]

My like was purely for the Button joke, awful but brilliant 😂 👌

[@brutaljack_40_56]

Question about the drs system used today, what if the cars under 1sec after the car in front (like now) gets drs right away after the corner but the drs closes before top speed, or at top speed, so the car would gain the lost time in the corners during the acceleration and not the top speed? what do you think?

[@DjDolHaus86]

DRS is there to counter the loss of traction experienced by the following car so allowing it to open earlier wouldn't really help matters. You can't accelerate faster out of a corner if you don't have the traction to do so and by opening the wing earlier you've only made things worse by reducing the available grip on the rear wheels.

[@brutaljack_40_56]

@TjDolHaus86 well yes, you cant open the drs while traction is a problem but after the traction phase of the acceleration. But I dont really get what you mean by it wouldn't help? For example monza start/finnish straight, if they can open drs at the start of the straight, not the middle, and then be able to reach top speed faster then the car in front, plus after the drs closes slip stream is still a thing. Monza is the extreme example

[@herbertwilliams1608]

What letter was obscured by the Penthouse F1's duct.

[@andymb601]

Will you be making a video on Ken Block?

[@benketteridge9150]

I've always wondered what would have happened if McLaren had located the input F-duct somewhere more subtle, perhaps behind a grill in the left sidepod or inside the roll hoop? Then all an outside observer would have seen would be a gap in the cockpit interior wall, which could be disguised by making it symetrical and deliberately 'drafty' for 'driver cooling'.

[@hagestad]

t would be the most awesome if they banned Jason Button and not Lewis just because it was operated by "button"

[@razorsitch9882]

Face is looking sore there Aidan, hope you’re ok mate.

[@docslappy8946]

For the algorithm! 😀

[@Milton_Valenzuela]

Press F to pay respects to natural overtakes from 2010 on back

[@Gordanovich02]

F

[@HHh-ug4oe]

Duct

[@sonnduro]

2010 cars had double diffusers

[@just-imagine1324]

Mercedes took it a step further and had it stall the front wing as well..

[@Silviovartan]

Are you ok Aidan? You look sick. I hope you are all right.

[@AidanMillward]

I spent 4 days in bed with pneumonia so yea.

[@silviovartankouyomdjian1311]

@@AidanMillward I hope you get well soon! love your videos! greetings from Brazil!

[@greenROB281]

Operated by a button Hahhahaahhah.... Nice On a serious note I would love for innovation to be fostered rather than shunned these days.

[@ElsinoreRacer]

I accept ads on KZbin, but I am here in the States and when I watch you the ads are usually in French. If not, then it's Spanish. I know you will get on this immediately. Thank you in advance.

[@connorglover8720]

Millward you look rough bro. Your eyes are looking less green.

[@talonobrovacgorgon5994]

fart duct hehe

[@TheGolfingCrowe]

DRS could be sorted possibly by having it deactivated when the overtaking car gets alongside the other. Or the front tyres of the overtaking car in line with the rears of the other

[@Gordanovich02]

Yes, my major gripe is that it was only supposed to put cars alongside each other into a braking zone, but instead the overtake is happening well before.

[@flopre9213]

@@Gordanovich02 think of the 2020 portuguese gp and the unholy drs on that track

[@PuncakeLena]

Nononononono, I think you'll find that in the end, it was all Webber's fault, not Hamilton's. Somehow. It always is.

[@schuylershane5325]

Great video but DRS is not a discussion for another day. F1 made the changes to let cars follow closely so why do we still have DRS? They fixed the problem, time to toss away the crutches and stand on your own two feet. F1 should schedule a half dozen races this year with no DRS.

[@albert_gyorgy]

I think Ferrari wishes they didn't abandon it...

[@jakewhite3508]

Money for sausage rolls

[@stevenjoy3537]

Exactly, teams should be allowed to expect engineers to copy and catch up. Engineers bring innovation. To nullflify on the basis of cost leads to many, including me, to think about no longer watching F1. Colin Chapman would not excel under today's rules

[@LucasOliveira-tt2ll]

the solution for the DRS is something I comment on every single video about DRS, something I call de "master gimmick" that is simply make the cars run DRS on during the whole lap and close only on key corners allow closing by on straights, but the car ahead can still pull a defense (or not, who knows if this debauchery gets more efective than the actual DRS)

[@shanewondrak9661]

As long as we agree to disagree on the proper pronunciation of the word controversy I will watch your videos. And I will put you on solid rotation for my new techs. Deal?

[@Batters56]

I too think that FIA chose not to ban it as you say because it helped prepare the audience for the idea of a stalled rear wing. Because my favourite go to banned “aerodynamic” device is the mass damper. Come on, if that can be banned under the no movable aerodynamic parts rule then anything can be. It would have been so easy for the FIA to say that for the purposes of the F-Duct the drivers leg has become a lever and it’s banned. My final point on “movable aerodynamic devices apart from those listed like DRS” yadda yadda rule is that every car/some/most? on the grid is of course illegal. Because they have springs and even hinges as part of the bib/t-tray assembly underneath the front of the car. On any lay reading of the rules it’s just not in there that this is allowed, but they have it and it passes scrutineering somehow.

[@docslappy8946]

Thanks