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May I remind you, this is motor car racing, there's more than one car on the track at once, and it's just that, a track. Not a giant parking lot. Where you pooint your car matters. Having a "sail" on your car, effectively making you at the mercy of strong wind gusts, would not be a good thing.ginsu wrote:It should help stabilize the car during crosswinds. It acts a bit like a rudder on an airplane. Should the car encounter a crosswind, it would push the rear end out and point the nose into the wind, thereby reducing it's crosswind sensitivity, this helps make the car more stable during unexpected gusts, but also would help point the car into the corner when the driver makes a sudden direction change.
mini696 wrote:It acts like a keel/centerboard on yachts too. It will help stop the car sliding sideways through a corner and therefore improving tyre wear.
so they are just doing it for fun?f1italia wrote:If the sharkfin had any advantage, Ferrari would be using it. If Ferrari does not have it, most likely it doesn't work.
Apparently Ferrari are developing their race car while other are just there to fool aroundSawtooth-spike wrote:so they are just doing it for fun?f1italia wrote:If the sharkfin had any advantage, Ferrari would be using it. If Ferrari does not have it, most likely it doesn't work.
It clearly does otherwise it would not be on there
Maybe they're testing it (or optimizing it for their aero) prior to using it?f1italia wrote:If the sharkfin had any advantage, Ferrari would be using it. If Ferrari does not have it, most likely it doesn't work.
yes.Maybe the advantages are very marginal with their aero package but more effective on other teams' packages?
No.If the sharkfin had any advantage, Ferrari would be using it. If Ferrari does not have it, most likely it doesn't work.
So, do you have the real answer since you so eloquently pounded on others that took stabs at the right answer?The FOZ wrote:mini696 wrote:It acts like a keel/centerboard on yachts too. It will help stop the car sliding sideways through a corner and therefore improving tyre wear.
Really? So you're saying that half a square meter or so of surface area in air (a fluid), is making that much of a difference up against the friction between tire and road, and the low pressure of downforce?
No.
In a turn, no matter how tight, the pressure difference between the side of the car inside the turn VS the side on the outside of the turn is negligible. No real air resistance. The "sail" effect on perpendicular airflow is negligible, even at the speeds these cars see.
As there are several, possibly millions of solutions to producing a fast F1 car, logic dictates that there can only be one PERFECT solution. I like to believe that F1's main motivating factor is achieving that solution to the formula regulations.bazanaius wrote:yes.Maybe the advantages are very marginal with their aero package but more effective on other teams' packages?
No.If the sharkfin had any advantage, Ferrari would be using it. If Ferrari does not have it, most likely it doesn't work.
There is not just one solution to a problem, particularly one as complex as building a fast f1 car. Sure, ferrari is quick, but that doesn't mean that any solution other than theirs 'doesn't work'. The aero on these cars is such a complex package, it's how it all fits together that matters.
Ferrari is using one to but it is looking a bit wider and differentIf the sharkfin had any advantage, Ferrari would be using it. If Ferrari does not have it, most likely it doesn't work.