F1 Aero Vortices

[nathan01xl]

Saw this GIF over on Jalopnik just now http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/1972.../ku-xlarge.gif

Pretty fascinating stuff, anyone have any ideas on what they are doing and how it all works?

[nathan01xl]

[euromodder]

Dunno, but whatever you see on F1 cars, generally isn't for fuel efficiency.
It's for keeping the car on the ground so it can transfer its power.

Vortices are visualised drag.

[twinair]

The rear vortices have no purpose (they are just there because of the pressure difference above and below the rear wing).
The vortices which pass by the side pots are probably provoked by winglets on the front wing, which probably help keeping the low pressure region underneath the car (prevent high pressure air from traveling underneath the car).

They used to have sideskirts to seal the low pressure region underneath the car, but they were prohibited about 30 years ago.

[some_other_dave]

It's not clear what year the GIF is from, but F1 cars have had winglets and add-on gee-gaws aft of the rear wheels for at least a few years now. Chances are that's what is causing the vortex in front of the rear wheel.

-soD

[aerohead]

Whatever it is,it will be obsolete by the next year when the governing body changes the specifications for the cars again.And it has no bearing upon passenger car fuel economy.

[niky]

The vortices around the rear wheels are from brake cooling.

There's a duct that pulls air from off the rear diffuser and pushes it outward through the rear wheels.

[twinair]

Here's a picture of this vortice provoking winglet (Number 3):
Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website
I found an explanation: Front Wing Endplate

A duct wouldn't provoke any significant vortices (you need a high and a low pressure surface and an edge/endplate). Keep in mind the actual vortices are much larger than what you see on this GIF.

[botsapper]

...and in case of high-speed traction loss, they also analyze lateral spin stability and those vortices look cool too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pREgFVRXeDI