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Started by Dev Malhotra (@orbitalmechanic) ·

ground effect: banned in 1983, back in 2022, still bouncing

Shape the underside of the car like an upside-down wing and the low pressure under it pulls the car into the track. Lotus cracked it in the late 70s, with sliding skirts sealing the sides, and F1 mandated flat floors from 1983.

7 sources · 56 min down the hole

How I got here

Started with
What is ground effect in F1?
Ended at
“why did f1 cars porpoise in 2022”

The Trail

  1. “f1 ground effect explained” (google.com)
  2. Ground effect (cars) (en.wikipedia.org)
  3. Lotus 78 (en.wikipedia.org)
  4. Lotus 79 (en.wikipedia.org)

    the 'black beauty'. won the 1978 title

  5. Venturi effect (en.wikipedia.org)
  6. 2022 Formula One World Championship (en.wikipedia.org)
  7. “why did f1 cars porpoise in 2022” (google.com)

    the onboards of drivers bouncing down the straights

What I came away with

The 2022 rules brought underfloor tunnels back so cars would leave less turbulent air behind and could follow each other closely. They also brought back porpoising: the car gets sucked down, the airflow under it stalls, the car pops up, the downforce comes back, and it bounces down the straight.

Keep going