1982 and 2022 — What do they have in common in F1?
I am a huge F1 fan, you might know that. During my childhood (late 90s and and 2000s), the sport was not the most competitive, the races were usually boring, and even though I would wake up at 3 AM to watch the race in Japan.
My father is also a great F1 fan, but it’s hard to keep up with his expectations. In his time (70s and 80s), he watched Emmerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet, and Ayrton Senna win several championships, and for that reason, he thinks F1 was better then. Every time a new Brazilian debuted in F1, he expected the same results as the former compatriots, which never quite happened.
Last year I decided to watch old F1 races and try to have my own opinion on which decade was the best. I’ve already written about the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Nowadays I am still watching the F1 in the 80s, or more precisely, the 1982 championship.
Do you know what the years 1982 and 2022 have in common within the context of Formula 1? The use of the Ground effect!
In fact, 1982 was the last year of F1 ground effect cars since FIA banned this aerodynamic concept due to safety reasons from the 1983 season onwards. However, the concept is back again for the 2022 championship.
But if ground effect was not safe, why is it back again?
That’s what I’ll try to cover today!
The origins of aerodynamics in F1
The whole purpose of aerodynamic devices in F1 is to generate downforce. As much as we can get. The more downforce, the more grip and thus cornering speed rises and lap times drop!
In the 60s, the average car would rely only on its tires, weight, and suspension to maximize grip. However, in 1968 Colin Chapman introduced the use of front wings in the Monaco Grand Prix. In fact, the whole car was aerodynamically designed to generate downforce.
Downforce increases as the speed increases. So it is just benefits, right? Well, there is always a catch and it’s named Drag Force!
Drag force is present in every car from the moment it starts running and it increases with speed. The problem is that wings make drag forces even bigger. So, the more downfoce, the more drag, which limits your max speed at the same time that gives you more grip. The solution is a compromise between both and even today engineers thrive to make the best setup for each race.
The ground effect
The father of the ground effect is the Venturi effect, which states that a fluid flowing through a constriction will increase its speed and reduce its pressure.
This effect is used in carburetors to such the gasoline into the air intake system, in wind tunnels, and even in musical instruments.
Now imagine that you shape the floor of your F1 to work under the Venturi effect. The low-pressure zone is capable of generating downforce with the least amount of drag.
The airflow going under the car must be sealed, so the air from outside does not leak into the Venturi undermining the low-pressure zone. In other words: the better the sealing, the more downforce!
But how do you seal the floor if it’s moving in relation to the track? The engineers came up with the sidepods: a flexible material that would literally lick the asphalt to create a proper seal.
The Ground Effect era in F1
Collin Chapman first introduced a Ground Effect car in 1977 at the Argentinian with his Lotus 78. This car won more races in the 77 season, but due to the reliability problems it didn’t manage to win the championship.
In 1978 the car was invincible and Mario Andretti won the championship for Lotus.
After that, all the other teams started using the concept and which leveled the dispute. The huge amount of downforce made the cars faster than ever, mainly in corners. In 1980 most cars didn’t use front wings because the Ground Effect could generate enough downforce.
What do you think happens when a sidepod breaks in the middle of a highspeed corner? Exactly. The car loses all its grip and the driver becomes a passenger. You add to the equation race tracks without proper barriers and you end up with ugly accidents.
By 1981, FIA introduced new rules for the ground effect: Any point of the car must be at least 60 mm above the ground, when in pits. This rule vanished the side pods and part of the effect of the venturi.
In 1982, the sidepods were back with some additional rules. Unfortunately, two drivers died during this year which made FIA ban the ground effect for good in 1983.
The F1 cars in 2022
This year starts a new era in F1. The rules have changed allowing the teams to work with ground effect again. But now we are not repeating the tragedies from the past.
The cars and tracks are safer and the sidepods are still not allowed. The use of some ground effect aims at solving a recent problem of F1:
The aerodynamics of a F1 car is extremely complex which makes close-by chases much more difficult. The cars can’t drive close to each other because the airflow is a mess, resulting in less downforce and more overheating.
I hope that this new era brings a more competitive grid, with more chases and fights for the podiums.
