F1 Aerodynamics insight from pre-season testing

As ever, pre-season testing has featured an innovative array of Aerodynamic solutions, so we thought we’d compare the top three teams to see exactly what they’re up to.

Halo

The biggest talking point of the 2018 season is the introduction of the Halo. It also has the biggest impact on the car’s aerodynamic performance and therefore, teams are doing everything they can to minimise it’s effect. Although the Halo is a standard part, there is still a small window in which the teams can develop the design. This has led to some teams such as Toro Rosso and Ferrari adding an additional element on top of the main structure. For a more detailed look click here

The Mercedes and Red Bull Halo’s are slightly different in shape, with the latter tapering to a thinner cross section towards the mounting points situated either side of the driver’s head.

We expect teams to have completely different designs by the time they get to the first round in Melbourne as once they have used the data from pre-season testing to validate their models, they will be able to refine their designs more effectively.

Front Vent

Both Ferrari and Red Bull have a vent located at the top of the nose that sits proud of the main structure. Mercedes on the other hand use a vent that is incorporated into the nose, to avoid any disturbance with the airflow.

Sidepods

Both Mercedes and Ferrari have gone for a similar approach, where the Aerodynamic element above the sidepod comes around the side all as one piece. Whereas Red Bull have two horizontal wings, with no vertical elements, although an iteration of this was tested (below).

Camera Housings

The top three teams have all gone for different philosophies with regards to the camera housings surrounding the airbox. All three have the main aerofoil directly above the airbox, as required by regulation. Although note Ferrari’s addition of two elements located down the centreline. The regulations also specify a camera housing on either side of the airbox, Mercedes have tested with two that both appear to be wider than Ferrari’s and Red Bull’s. Ferrari have chosen the left hand side for their camera housing, whereas Red Bull have gone for the right hand side.

These could also be utilised to help stabilise the turbulent flow coming off of the Halo, before it flows onto the rear wing to try and minimise the impact of the Halo on rear wing downforce.