2026 car comparisons

[Gridlock]

d. The design is such that failure of the system will result in RW Flap returning to its design
position.

I wonder how they are achieving this. Spring loaded?

Likely it's just going to return naturally under aero load absent retention.

[matt_s]

Likely it's just going to return naturally under aero load absent retention.

Obviously can't entirely judge the aero loading, but given where it pivots, and the oncoming airflow, I would have expected aero load to keep it in the inverted position rather than force it to return.

[Gridlock]

Likely it's just going to return naturally under aero load absent retention.

Obviously can't entirely judge the aero loading, but given where it pivots, and the oncoming airflow, I would have expected aero load to keep it in the inverted position rather than force it to return.

Yeah that would be a natural assumption but I'm assuming failsafe (where safe = continuing in the race) outweighs what seems "natural" as a design goal. Could well be a spring but simpler = better = less weight. I'm sure we'll find out more.

[bananapeel23]

Surely that is the last thing you’d want to do with this rule set? Anything slowing the car down other than the brakes at the front & MGU-K at the rear is wasted energy.

Yeah plus the same motion happens when you activate SM, so if it acts as an aerobrake it acts both at the start and the end.

Likely that aero brake effect is minimal.

I thought they didn't have front braking regen? So additional stopping power will be helpful, plus it's at the rear as well.

Potentially, but that would only make air braking effective as long as it takes load off of only the front brakes, while also increasing the rate of deceleration compared to conventional braking. That is unless the benefit provided by air braking outweighs the loss in regen.

I don't think it would work very well as an air brake since you generally want the most rear downforce possible in order to get the most rear grip possible, since that increases rear harvesting potential. So for it to work they would really need to have enough stability in the rear to keep harvesting despite the rear wing providing no downforce. I don't really see that being possible, except perhaps at really high speed where tyre locking tends to be less of an issue, assuming the diffuser is really good. Though realistically high speed is also where an air brake would really help, so if it works only at high speed, that may well be enough to justify the use case as an air brake.

[Real PJ's Beard]

Is it possible to program the rw rotation mechanism through the ERS? I mean the ERS is already predicting power curves during partial throttle/traction limited conditions. And superclipping/Lico is most useful during end of straights. Also the teams already have custom presets for power mapping and ers deployment for each track. So they could program it to work in a way that the flap will rotate a set amount of time (0.5 sec ?) after superclipping kicks in. Unless the movement of the rear wing is only allowed when the driver touches the brakes. But then we have already seen front and rear wing closing offset with Ferrari

The wing can only be operated by the driver's input and not mapped to any automated activation

[Stu]

Everybody:
“Wow, that’s a bold wing from Alpine.”
Ferrari engineers:
“Hold my wine.”

I see it as a more complex version of what Audi have done (with a conventional actuator). The Ferrari version operates over a bigger angle of rotation (obviously), but has two large actuator pods with the rear wing endplates (clearly visible and quite bulky), it is also limited by the maximum 65mm gap between main-plane and actuated flap position.
An interesting solution, but is it the most effective?

[Brahmal]

One of the reasons behind Alpine's rear-wing implementation is to reduce the aerodynamic disruption from the flap raising and lowering. This makes some sense, as this system will be activated many more times per race than DRS was so smoothing out that transition between the two modes can bring more benefits than we might otherwise assume.

This OTOH, looks like it would cause quite a bit of aero disruption, even if only momentary. It's interesting to see how these teams are juggling all these competing considerations. And there's no reason why Ferrari can't adjust this system to only open the rear flap 30-ish degrees like most of the other teams, rather than the 270 degrees or so we're seeing here. I think this is more a proof of concept for the new mechanism, which is probably more aero efficient than a DRS pod.

[NoDivergence]

People are forgetting the most basic reason for this inverted wing. Vortices. Opposite rotating vortices cancel

[Owen.C93]

People are forgetting the most basic reason for this inverted wing. Vortices. Opposite rotating vortices cancel

Why would that matter? The drag has already been induced.

[NoDivergence]

People are forgetting the most basic reason for this inverted wing. Vortices. Opposite rotating vortices cancel

Why would that matter? The drag has already been induced.

? What do you mean. The flap is behind the main element. You are literally mitigating the vortex growth off the main plane.

Have you seen the vortex off a plane's wingtips? It propagates for hundreds of meters

[.poz]

I see it as a more complex version of what Audi have done (with a conventional actuator). The Ferrari version operates over a bigger angle of rotation (obviously), but has two large actuator pods with the rear wing endplates (clearly visible and quite bulky), it is also limited by the maximum 65mm gap between main-plane and actuated flap position.
An interesting solution, but is it the most effective?

i think that the Ferrari version is a little more efficient in therm of drag reduction not because of the open position but from the missing central actuator

[Owen.C93]

People are forgetting the most basic reason for this inverted wing. Vortices. Opposite rotating vortices cancel

Why would that matter? The drag has already been induced.

? What do you mean. The flap is behind the main element. You are literally mitigating the vortex growth off the main plane.

Have you seen the vortex off a plane's wingtips? It propagates for hundreds of meters

But that vortex has no impact on the car anymore. The drag from the vortex generation has already happened. Trying to add a counter rotating vortex just adds more drag.

[nim_peter]

If the inverted flap is indeed creating lift, can the car run softer suspensions and run much lower to the ground and not porpoise in the straights?

[bluechris]

Correct my thinking if I’m wrong about this 180-degree rear wing, guys.
We have one wing, and whether it opens normally or in reverse (like what Ferrari did today), I assume the drag remains the same.

When it opens normally, the air passes through, and because it is a wing and not completely flat, the air is directed slightly upward, which pressures the car down.
However, when it opens and rotates 180 degrees, the air is directed downward. This forces the airflow hitting the rear overall air that's coming to the back of the car into a flatter trajectory, causing the air to accelerate. Another gain is that since the car is lifted slightly, the team can run a softer suspension. This would provide better braking and more grip in all corners, especially the slow ones, and lead to better overall tire management.
Those are just my thoughts, but as an armchair old-fart I can’t exactly back them up aerodynamically!

Edit: @GrizzleBoy you are in my thoughts

[NoDivergence]

Why would that matter? The drag has already been induced.

? What do you mean. The flap is behind the main element. You are literally mitigating the vortex growth off the main plane.

Have you seen the vortex off a plane's wingtips? It propagates for hundreds of meters

But that vortex has no impact on the car anymore. The drag from the vortex generation has already happened. Trying to add a counter rotating vortex just adds more drag.

That is not how aero and induced drag works. Everything downstream affects upstream and vice versa.

Same idea, just done with a prop

https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... nal_Layout