2017-2020 Aerodynamic Regulations Thread

[godlameroso]

That all depends. Let's take Barcelona, where are the cars going to be faster? The simulator says turn 3 will be flat, they were almost flat in 2016 so it's essentially a wash there. They can't be flat in turn 4, or 5, everyone is flat in 6, but not 7, and neither will these cars, 8 definitely flat, 9 is the big question. If 9 is flat the gain will be massive, maybe .7 on that turn alone. Can't be flat in 10, everyone is already flat in 11. Then it's the super slow sector 3 which is impossible to be flat for more than an instant except on the run to turn 16.

I don't think we'll see much difference in sector one, a huge difference in sector 2, and a step forward in sector 3. But I'm probably wrong and they'll completely defy all expectations, and the drivers first words when describing the new cars will just be "sharp exhale".

I'm not so sure on that.

I have seen estimates that turn 3 will be taken at speeds as much as 40km/h faster than 2016. Similar improvements in the medium speed corners should see a drop in the sector time.

Sector 1 is very small, ending right before turn 4. I figure it would be more or less the same because the 2016 cars will carry more speed down the straight. Of course the 2017 cars would be faster, but not by a second or more like they will be in sectors 2 and 3.

[roon]

It'll be interesting to see just how much top speeds are affected. The tires are wider, yes, but that seems to me to be the only variable which we might directly correlate to increased drag. Even then, the interplay of all the aero devices will still influence how air flows over them. The front wing & rear wing will be wider but not necessarily as tall as what was needed previously. How efficiently all the devices produce required downforce has yet to be seen. Might function better than the previous formula. As such, top speeds could improve along with cornering speeds.

The Manor wind tunnel model posted recently shows tunnel/ramp inlets which take advantage of the regulations change. I expect such features to be a key development area, increasing the amount of downforce produced by the floor & diffuser. This, combined with wider & shallower wings might lead to more aerodynamically efficient vehicles this year.

[SR71]

Very excited to see the flip floppers that have been clambering on that the new regs will be worse for overtaking decide they knew all along that passing would be better. We know who you are

loss of DF is bad but even worse is loss of balance.

It seems rear wing/diffuser combo gives out before the front wing does and this shifts balance forward for a car that is driveable when trying to overtake.

Overtaking shouldn't be easy - can never understand why anyone thinks it should be. These new regs should allow competent drivers to make their own luck.

[Juzh]

TL;DR version is that the floor is responsible for much more of the downforce, which by itself makes following another car easier, and that beyond 4 car lengths both balance and downforce loss is minimal.

If this in fact turns out to be the case, coupled with severely less understeer, then things will be a lot better this year in regards to racing between cars. One can only hope.

[Juzh]

Sector 1 is very small, ending right before turn 4. I figure it would be more or less the same because the 2016 cars will carry more speed down the straight. Of course the 2017 cars would be faster, but not by a second or more like they will be in sectors 2 and 3.

RB6 managed to gain 0.8s from T1 entry up to T4 entry compared to 2016 W07. So there is scope for laptime gains in sector 1.

Also, I'm still in doubt whether turn 3 will actually be flat. If we go by the most common number of 40 kmh mid corner speed increase, that's still not enough for 2017 to go flat trough there.

As for campsa being flat.. forget it.

[bhall II]

[FrukostScones]

tasty ,
now imagine what RB and Merc can come up with.

[Holm86]

http://i.imgur.com/FDoz1dv.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/y7Vlkeu.jpg

These are the best images yet, And im pretty excited for the look of the cars, seeing this, I don't think the delta shaped FW's look bad. Interesting is the endplates which isnt very aggresive in outwash, and also the return of the R-flaps near the neutral section.
Theres also a big flip-up in the front section of the floor.
And the return of the sharkfins, which many had foreseen, but im not a fan of the look.
The new barge boards are also very interesting.

[AMG.Tzan]

Why on earth shark fins??? I thought they were banned in 2011...they look awful!
Seriously they'll have to ban them again...it destroys the look of the cars! I thought that all the hard work on aesthetics was going to be undone by the halo (thankfully they didn't use it this year) but no...it is the shark fins!

[Godius]

Why on earth shark fins??? I thought they were banned in 2011...they look awful!

From my understanding, the only thing that was prohibited was that the tail fin could not be attached to the rear wing.

[Gridlock]

Are the truncated cone forms in the wheels new, or just extra-visible on this model?

[Big Mangalhit]

F1 2017 overtaking study for your perusal.

http://www.dynamic-flow.co.uk/uploads/5 ... _study.pdf

In the fig.15 it kinda gives the idea that the airflow disturbance is caused by the following car body (roll over structure). In that respect it could explain why the shark fin could really come in handy to stabilise that airflow immediately before the RW especially in yaw. Also the higher rake cars could have an advantage there.

[Sevach]

The level of detail is crazy in F1, look at those little brake drums =D>

[roon]

Those sidepod intakes are far lower than what we've seen in previous years. Also, notice the new diffuser shape. It's the dark grey block shaped object sitting just inside of the rear wheels. It's forward edge reaches far ahead of the rear axle now, but maintains the concave/overexpanded shape which we've been used to seeing for many years now.

[roon]

http://i.imgur.com/FDoz1dv.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/y7Vlkeu.jpg

Theres also a big flip-up in the front section of the floor.

Correct. The regs now permit a 100mm radius at the floor's edge, whereas before they were limited to 50mm.

Don't know about this livery though. Perhaps they're now sponsored by the same company that supplies Eddie Jordan's shirts.