2009 Car Technical Thread

[Ste]

Thought I'd start a thread providing everyone here with Technical information for the 2009 cars. I hope it gives a better insight to teams designs and in a more technical way than Mark Hughes' analysis on ITV.

All information from F1Technical.

Let's Begin.

2009: Goodbye to shark gills



In the winter series developments we'll be looking at the changes incurred by the drastic regulation changes that rule Formula One for 2009 and beyond. First off it marks the end of the shark gills, which came widely into use after the sidepod of the championship winning Renault R25 was completely covered with these hot air exhausts.
While they have caused interesting point of view into the car's cooling, any opening in almost the entire sidepod area is banned with article 3.8.5, except for anything less than 55mm ahead of the rear wheel centre line.
The teams will therefore have to resort to completely different cooling solutions by guiding all hot air within the sidepod towards the rear end. Such solution will surely be less effective and cause more problems with overheating at the rear.

2009: Dead simple front wings erase spoons



At this week's Barcelona test, Honda showed a front wing conforming to the 2009 specifications. While there is a lot more to it than just the central section, this is the most interesting - or boring - part. In recent years, teams came up with various different spoon shapes in the middle part of the front wing, but they won't have to bother anymore. A change in the regulations stipulates that the central part of the front wing (500mm of it to be exact) must consist of a single element. It must also conform exactly to the thickness and chord specified by the FIA. To make a long story short, an area where no aerodynamicist should be kept busy with.
All this however for a good cause, as simulations proved that this section was most prone to loss of downforce when trailing another car, so eliminating any downforce will allow the second car to follow closer, and hopefully overtake after that.

2009: Smaller and higher rear wing



One of the most striking changes for 2009 will certainly be the smaller but higher rear wing. Its new maximum width is now defined to be 750mm rather than 1000mm, while the maximum height is set to 950mm above the car's reference place.
While such change may not be aesthetically pleasing, it basically is based on the rear wings of the early nineties. Over the years, the FIA tried to reduce downforce by lowering the rear wing, but analysis have showed that the teams have made such progress that it didn't have the desired effect. Together with that, it also worsened the wake behind the rear wing, making it more difficult to pass.
The new rear wing regulations are designed to resolve all that by decoupling it more from the diffuser's upwash and allowing it to be more efficient due to its higher position.
Note however that the rear wing in the image is an interim version of the BMW Sauber F1.08B. While it features the correct dimensions, the wing had 3 aerofoils, instead of the allowed two.

2009: The long awaited return of slicks



One of the positives of the new regulations will no doubt be the return of ungrooved, dry weather tyres. While the FIA has moved to drastically reduce the aerodynamic grip of the car and hence lower the apex speed in fast corners, the increase of mechanical grip will allow the cars to go faster in the slowest corners.
The change isn't however as simple as one may expect, as the tyre compounds and structure will be different. It has also emerged that because of this change, teams will have to move even more weight towards the front of the car, another challenge for the previously Michelin shod teams, who are grown accustomed to a rearward weight bias.
As usual, Bridgestone will supply the tyres, 2 different compounds at each Grand Prix, selected between 4 different types over the span of the season.

Long and pointy nose for new Ferrari



Ferrari have just released its new 2009 car to the public, officially named F60. The new car is extraordinarily interesting as it is the first race-ready 2009 car to be launched, although Ferrari have already confirmed that a lot of updates are coming ahead of the first GP.
Amongst others, one of the most striking features of the new Ferrari is its long and pointy nose cone. This change is no doubt influenced by the rules that specify the front wing to be moved forward. As such, the team at Maranello have decided to redesign the nosetip and extend it, allowing to have a sharp point instead of the fairly round cones that have characterised recent Ferrari F1 cars.
Maranello also paid a lot of attention to the front wing attachments and positioned them as far back as possible to not intervene with the nosetip's airflow itself.
Note that around the nose, teams are aiming to reduce drag rather than increase downforce, as the new front wing does not add downforce in its middle section - as the middle section of the front wing has a regulated, neutral profile.

Long and pointy nose for new Ferrari



Ferrari have just released its new 2009 car to the public, officially named F60. The new car is extraordinarily interesting as it is the first race-ready 2009 car to be launched, although Ferrari have already confirmed that a lot of updates are coming ahead of the first GP.
Amongst others, one of the most striking features of the new Ferrari is its long and pointy nose cone. This change is no doubt influenced by the rules that specify the front wing to be moved forward. As such, the team at Maranello have decided to redesign the nosetip and extend it, allowing to have a sharp point instead of the fairly round cones that have characterised recent Ferrari F1 cars.
Maranello also paid a lot of attention to the front wing attachments and positioned them as far back as possible to not intervene with the nosetip's airflow itself.
Note that around the nose, teams are aiming to reduce drag rather than increase downforce, as the new front wing does not add downforce in its middle section - as the middle section of the front wing has a regulated, neutral profile.

Ferrari continue outboard mirrors on F60



Despite the stringent regulations that specify just where bodywork is allowed, Ferrari have still found a way to mount its outboard wing mirrors. The new solution looks like a combination of the sidepod panel on the Red Bull RB4 with an added mirror. Renault previously tried to put its mirrors on the sidepod panels back on 2007 but reverted from the solution because of vibrations.
The Ferrari design clearly shows that the sidepod panel has two aligned parts from fairly thick carbon fibre to make sure that the mirrors are firmly held in place. No doubt the mounting positions of the panels - the rear one fixed to the sidepod, the front one to a floor extension - will add to that. As marked in the image, you lower (black) part of the panel is shaped in conjunction with the new smaller bargeboard to direct air around the sidepod.
The upper front of the sidepod itself is also shaped particularly. The most forward part hides the side impact crash structures. The rest of the sidepod bodywork pulls more to the back as it allows a cleaner airflow around the pod.

Deceivingly simple Ferrari front wing



While many claim the new Ferrari F60 front wing as a simple implementation of the new rules, its simplicity is actually surprisingly deceiving. When taking a closer look at the outer part of the front wing, it becomes apparent that the end plates are once again very curvatious. Contrary to last year, the 2009 style panels aim to direct air to the outside of the front wheel, contrary of the inside as last year's front wings were considerably smaller. You can also notice a small winglet attached to the end plate's floor, also directing air away from the front wheel.

The main downforce generating flap consist of a single element which is now adjustable by a hydraulic actuator built into the endplate. At the outer extremities, the panel folds back, attempting to cooperate with the endplate. This design hints that in this area the reduction of drag is more important than additional downforce.

One last thing to remark is the Williams-style deck panel, only attached to the endplate. It is a single element with a slightly sharper angle of attack in the 5cm closest to the endplate - note the shadow on the Shell logo.

[Ste]

Advanced front wing on new McLaren MP4-24



McLaren have introduced its new MP4-24, and it features the most advanced front wing of any of the 2009 cars that have already been launched. While Ferrari attempted a modest double decker wing and Toyota displayed a basic version, the new McLaren wing looks ready to be raced. The main panel features sweeping curves starting from a minimum-height horizontal leading edge. The red coloured moveable flaps are similarly curved in an attempt to improve the airflow in the inside of the front wheels, while maximising downforce ahead of it.

The support of the moveable panels also reveals that only the upper element of the wing is adjustable by the driver. The driver can operate that element by 6° from his steering wheel, activating an adjuster built into the end plate.

McLaren have additionally taken a different route in designed the front wing end plates, as these curve inwards, rather that directing air around the outside of the front wheels.

A look into McLaren's sidepod front



McLaren have taken a fairly predictable approach as far as the front of the sidepod goes. During the course of 2008, the team often partially closed the radiator air inlet of the sidepod as reduce the car's overall drag on circuits that require less cooling. Since the new engines will require even less cool air than last year due to the drop in maximum rpm, the smaller inlet could be made a standard feature of the new car. As a result, the undercut could be smoothed to improve its interaction with the new, smaller barge board.
The wing mirrors on the other hand are also similar to the MP4-23, except for their relocation closer to the driver, inspired by Renault's positioning of the mirrors in their Renault R28.
Also remark the vertical fence upward of the car's floor. This prevents interaction of airflow above and under the floor.

New Renault gets radical nosejob



The newly launched Renault stunned many fans and experts because of its chunky nose. While it is arguably not aesthetically pleasing, it is this kind of creativity coupled to efficiency that make Formula One to what it is today.

As the image shows, there are many points of interest to this new Renault, starting with the nose. The team have come a long way from the very thin and designs of the Renault R25 and Renault R26, but have found it increasingly important to have room to position ballast in the front of the car. The Bridgestone tyres require this even more so with the new slicks. The nose is made wide to try to lift up as much air as possible over the cone itself. It is however also thick with a bulge between the front wing supports. Thanks to the fences on each side of the nose - as marked with an arrow - a low pressure area is created to add a little bit more to that frontal downforce.



The front wing itself of course features the FIA-templated middle section, but apart from that is a very particular design. The moveable flaps are kept fairly simple, but are more forward than on any other car seen so far. Having these positioned more forward is beneficial for the aerodynamic properties of the whole car, basically for the same reason as increasing the wheelbase would be.

The front wing end plates are also particularly interesting as they are designed to direct air around the front wheel on both sides. All other end plates are designed to push as much air as possible around the outside of the wheels.

How to keep an F1 car cool: Renault R29



The new regulations do not only create problems in finding downforce, but they also give engineers a harder time in trying to cool the engine down. More specifically, since shark gills, chimneys or any other cooling opening in the sidepods is forbidden, all radiator air must come out of the sidepods at the back. Renault have therefore taken a similar approach to Ferrari by making the sidepod some kind of a tube that direct hot air towards the rear. Such wide sidepod however allows it to have a big undercut and be low, two very interesting properties to ensure the efficiency of the rear wing.

One problem at hand is however the rear suspension components that protrude the sidepod body, but a titanium wrapping around the components saves reliability.

Also marked in the image is the shark fin, still present to stabilise the car while cornering. The fin, as well as the rear wing end plates have remained practically the same.

Williams FW31's unique airbox inlet



Williams' new FW31 is a very elegant design and ahead of schedule as the team started its development earlier than most of its rivals. One of these details is the addition of 2 air inlets - one on each side of the airbox - to catch cooling air for the hydraulics.

Last year, the team mimicked Ferrari's idea of splitting the airbox itself in two, but the team have now apparently found a better solution. The result is also that the main airbox inlet could now be made smaller, something that is always helpful around the turbulent area of the driver's helmet.

BMW Sauber implement tiny louvers in sidepod



BMW Sauber's newly launched F1.09 features an interesting solution to provide cooling in the sidepods. It is already a wide known fact that openings other than the exhaust exit are forbidden on the sidepod shell, but the team of Hinwill managed is exploring the edges of legality. Just above the car's floor, the team added a very small series of louvers to provide an exit for hot radiator air.

F1.09 has a maximum width nose



The new BMW Sauber has been developed in two phases. A first one that started very early was a project of evaluating different solutions for pretty much everything about the car. Then, after choosing the better solution, the component is developed and fitted onto the car for evaluation.

The nose section of the new F1.09 underwent the same development procedure in which the team found that the wide nose worked best with the new front wing. Obviously BMW have done their homework rather well, as several other teams - such as the likes of Renault and Williams - have come to similar conclusions. BMW is however the only team that has bumps on either side, attempting to have more air between the front wheels. Ideally, the nose would be just the upper and lower surface, but that is obviously not possible and not allowed either.

Even more louvers on the F1.09



Strangely, the more you seem to look at the F1.09, the more louvers, also known as shark gills - you discover. I have already reported about the little outlets close to the car's floor, but there is a series or openings just aside of the head protection bumps on the car's body. Being located so close to the car's centre line, this falls just within the regulations.

Article 3.8.4 states (among other notices) that no openings are allowed in "the volume between the rear face of the cockpit entry template and 450mm forward of the rear face of the cockpit entry template, which is more than 350mm from the car centre line and more than 100mm above the reference plane.". Hence, in the area closer than 350mm from the car's centre line, shark gills or any other opening of any kind is permitted as before.

[Ste]

Red Bull RB5: in interesting take on the rules



Red Bull have always claimed that taking the time to develop the new car would prove right, and thus far it appears to be true. From all launched cars, the RB5 is without doubt the most interesting. Those who expected a dull car from Adrian Newey don't know their history too well, as the designer tends to shine upon radical regulation changes.

This time around, the RB5 has the most advanced front wing out there, featuring a triple element base wing that points sharply upwards ahead of the front wheels, hence acting both as a downforce generating wing as well as a shield for the wheels. It is also interesting to see how the moveable element does not extend to the end plate, leaving some room for a clean, gap-less channel of airflow around the front wheel.

Fitted on top of the simple but elegant end plate is a decked element spanning the maximum allowed width. It appears though as if the part closest to the nose is more aimed at airflow stabiliser, rather than to generate downforce.

Long time no see, the pull rod suspension



It's been a while, but Red Bull have brought the pull rod back to Formula One, and with reason! The last pull rod dates from 2000 with the low nosed Arrows A21 which featured a pull rod. Because of Red Bull's choice to create very low sidepods at the back end, a push rod did not make much sense as the suspension components would prevent a clean airflow anyway. Hence, the new version has allowed the designed to put more components close to the car's floor, lowering its centre of gravity.

As this allowed for an even tighter rear end, the rear upper wishbones actually connect above the car's bodywork, in the most ideal position. The arms are fully horizontal and connect as the centre of the car. With some imagination, if you would turn the car upside down, the rear suspension is effectively an inverted single keel. The keel is here supporting both upper wishbones.

Is Renault R29's new nose illegal?



Just two weeks after the initial tests, Renault has already introduced a modified nose cone, building upon the foundations that were laid out at the launch. The tip of the nose is now a little more rounded to reduce drag.
The underside however now sports 'side skirts' all along the sides of the nose, in between the front wheels and extending to the splitter. The new design will help even more to benefit from the low pressure area underneath the nose.

Although interesting, Renault is clearly experimenting different solutions, and this one is unlikely to make it to Melbourne, simply because it is not valid in the current rules. Article 3.11.2 states: With the exception of brake cooling air ducts, in side view, there must be no bodywork in the area formed by two vertical lines, one 325mm behind the front wheel centre line, one 450mm ahead of the front wheel centre line, one diagonal line intersecting the vertical lines at 100mm and 200mm above the reference plane respectively, and one horizontal line on the reference plane.

[Ste]

Keeping this post for more information.

*Limited BB Code tags for each post*

[Richred]

repeat "Long and pointy nose for new Ferrari " (thanks for the info)

[DIEK]

Very interesting post, thanks!

[Tifoso]

Nice work, mate

[Rob]

nice 1 mate our nose section defiantly best

[neermsc]

nice post ste!!!!!

[Ste]

Second post updated with more Technical Analysis.

[jkwaggener]

Very cool Ste, where has this been hiding?

[vagos]

such a nice post ste m8 thanks!!!

[ladyf1usa]

Guess I should have read your very detailed posts before posting my thread for calling technical help! Sorry guys! A a very big thank you to you STE! I think I am up to speed now!
Thank you my friend!!!

[Pierce89]

nice 1 mate our nose section defiantly best

our nose is obviously very far from the best. We have no downforce at either end, but at least that makes for a balanced car

[human01]

The one thing about the technical changes this year seems to be that it has turned all calculations upside down. Ferrari and McLaren are nowhere. Jenson Button seems to have sprung a surpise with the Brawn GP car
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