Performance and improvements of a Formula One car

The following study refers to the analysis of the performance and improvements of the most famous motorsport competition in the world, known as Formula One. Within this sport, numerous sections such as mechanics, chassis or engines are included, but in this case, we will introduce ourselves in the investigation of the front wing, one of the most important elements of aerodynamics. Like all sports do, Formula One has also evolved, and in this case, we will focus our project on the creation of a new front wing design adapted to new regulations imposed by the FIA in 2022. So, our main objectives are creating this new 3D CAD model in SolidWorks, thanks to other prototypes and images, and also starting a discussion process where the improvements provided by this new design are compared to previous years. The methodology starts with the creation of the 2022 prototype and reproduce it in a CFD simulation software studying the dynamic behaviour of the air like a virtual wind tunnel. The project explains in detail the operation of these simulations, and the methodology used in their creation, based on images, tables and conclusions obtained in the course of the work. Once seen the most important aerodynamic aspects, located in the initial part of the memory, and the evolution of aerodynamics in the sport throughout history, some comparisons are made with a 3D model obtained from a 2018 front wing (old regulation) thanks to the CFD simulations already commented. Simulations generate numerous data and results that must be considered and commented to find the differences between these two ailerons, where a symbolic value is the numeric aerodynamic efficiency that includes information about lift and drag coefficients, which can arrive to increase considerably with the new model. Also, with the results, we arrive at the conclusion that a car’s configuration is crucial to find the best performance, and small changes, like the height or geometry of the front wing, can be decisive. To sum up, our final conclusions will generalize and compare which is the best front wing configuration and if the FIA’s objective to reduce the amount of dirty air with a new regulation can be accomplished. Besides, some other future ideas to enhance our study, like different changing performance effects or advanced considerations, are remarked.