Formula 1 is best known for its absurd speeds and the equally wild engineering that enables the winged wonders to cling to the tarmac as they lap some of the world’s most famous circuits. Efficient aerodynamics are one of the most critical – and most regulated – elements of the car, and teams are constantly evolving their cars‘ wings, skirts, and floors as a result. So how does any one part of the downforce-creating kit get built? Well, it’s quite involved and hardly simple.
For starters, the wings are subject to ever-changing rules and regulations. Those rules outline numerous facets of the wing shape and design. One whole page of the rulebook is dedicated to just the curl at the ends of the front wing. Aerodynamicists at each team are all given the same regulations which form a box that the final piece must fit in, and then it is up to them to get as creative as possible, because the front wing actually has a lot more to do than merely provide downforce.
As pointed out in a video breaking down the process of creating a Formula 1 wing, YouTube channel Driver61 talked to multiple members of the Alpine F1 team. Just like any other aerodynamic piece – and likely every piece of a modern F1 car – the first stop is the rulebook, and then it is lots of time looking at a computer screen before any parts take a physical form.
All that iterative designing is necessary because, as the first part of the car that the air touches, the front wing directs air to achieve a number of objectives. How the air flows over the rest of the car is critical to keeping the power unit and the brakes cool, to achieving downforce, and more. Testing is the best way to ensure success, but of course that is limited by the rulebook, too. Teams only get a set amount of computer-modelled tests of the aerodynamic shape of the car before they need to lock in a design, create the shape in the real world, and see how it works in the wind tunnel.
This is where things start to get interesting. Now it is up to the structural engineers to try to take the shapes drawn by the designers and create a wing that functions as they expect it to. This process involves a lot of finite element analysis, which looks at the shapes and highlights where the most stress and force will be concentrated, and from there, the structural engineers create a part that effectively blends the needs for light weight and high strength.
So while the concept of a front wing on Formula 1 cars is relatively simple, the process to create a modern one is anything but. Just like every other piece of a Formula 1 car, the front wing has become an engineering marvel. We’d expect nothing less from the tip-top tier of motorsports, though. We are just lucky we don’t have to understand every little angle in the aero package in order to enjoy a race.
