The F1 S-duct is an innovative aerodynamic trick that has been on F1 cars since 2012. But, the engineering behind it can be misinterpreted so we spoke to aerodynamicists to find out how the F1 S-duct really works.

2019 F1 S-duct examples

Turbulent air
To understand how the F1 S-duct works, we first need to realise that whenever air flows over a surface, it loses energy, which causes the flow to slow down and become turbulent or ‘dirty’. One of the areas where this occurs is the front wing. As air flows through the gap between the underside of the nose, the upper surface of the front wing and the inner faces of the front wing pillars (highlighted in blue below) an expanding tube of turbulent air is created. To make matters worse, the air that impacts the top corners of the nose then accelerates round and rolls underneath; adding to this turbulent tube of air that then continues downstream.
The air flowing through the blue area is turbulent and to mitigate it's effect, the F1 S-duct was developed

This flow not only feeds the main turning vanes but also the leading edge of the underfloor, so the cleaner the teams can get this airflow, the more performance they can extract from the other aero devices downstream.
?The airflow under the nose is ?dirty? which means it is a slower speed flow that has been worked by the presence of the nose and the front wing,? explains Arron Melvin, ...