In case any of you were feeling nostalgic about F1 cars from the late 70s and early 80s, there is a slight possibility that ground effect aerodynamics might make a comeback in the near future.
During Formula One’s Strategy Group meeting, a proposal focusing on ground effect underbodies was brought forward – the goal being to have lighter and faster cars delighting both fans as well as drivers.
Teams were free to submit their own suggestions, though Red Bull proposed changing the way in which downforce is generated by replacing complex front & rear wings with underbodies.
Probably very few F1 fans realize this, but those late 70s and early 80s ground-effect cars were a lot less sensitive to running in dirty air. Even today’s GP2 cars use a longer underbody tunnel to help with downforce.
Even though we’re almost certainly headed towards wider rear tires, some, like McLaren-Honda‘s Jenson Button, still think that better downforce should always “come from the floor rather than the wings, because you can race closer and fight, and you don’t have as much dirty air from the wings for the car following.”
Jenson also said that he likes the idea of making cars lighter as they become “more nimble and less lazy; more mechanical grip is always good for racing, because it doesn’t hurt overtaking.”
Whether or not we’ll get to see ground effect aerodynamics make a return to Formula 1 next season or beyond, we as fans are looking forward to any and all changes that make racing more exciting and a lot less predictable that what we’re seeing today.
Story references: Autosport
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