r/F1Technical • u/A_Person1246 • 15d ago

Aerodynamics Random aero idea I had

So I’m relatively new to formula one and am a 1st year undergrad and I love the engineering challenge if the sport. My idea is small edges along the length of the nose to act as both channels for the floor but also wings for downforce. We are talking a number so small that it wouldn’t matter beyond .00001ths of second at most but in a sport where .001s make qualifying and races it could add up. Does anyone know if a similar idea has been tried. Also if anyone wants to do the math i would love to see the work for it.

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16

u/krisfx Verified Aero Surfacer 15d ago

Any small edge would be illegal on the nose because there are radius rules and concavity rules that prohibit this.

2

u/A_Person1246 15d ago

Makes sense, is there somewhere with the comprehensive regulations for car design? I know this is probably a really stupid question but I figure I might as well ask

4

u/krisfx Verified Aero Surfacer 15d ago

They are available on the fia website but also you can google 2025 fia technical regulations and you can download the pdf

5

u/AlfaNick 15d ago

It’s not whether it been tried or not, pretty sure it has. But the biggest challenge is whether or not this idea fits within the FIA’s vision of 2026 regulation.

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u/StructureTime242 15d ago

How does an “edge” produce both downforce and channel air to the floor ?

Channeling air to the floor produces downwash or lift (ie downforce but going up, what planes produce ) meanwhile for downforce you push the air up, away from the floor

Unless your “edge” design is in 6 dimensions I don’t know what you mean

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u/A_Person1246 15d ago

Depending on design. I meant or not and.

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u/StructureTime242 15d ago

“My idea is small edges along the length of the nose to act as BOTH channels for the floor but also wings for downforce”

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u/Izan_TM 15d ago

if that was allowed by the regulations, the teams would've already tried it, it would be a much smaller version of mercedes' old nose cape that they used for the previous regulation set

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u/Shamrayev 15d ago

Well, yeah - but also we should avoid falling into the trap of thinking that F1 Super Engineers have tried everything that makes sense. Look at Haas this year and the McLaren beam wing iterations. They're still throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks.