Wind tunnels are arguably one of the most powerful tools a Formula 1 team can have in their armory. In terms of development, a wind tunnel is the end all and be all for engineers working in the aero department. However, it is also one of the costliest infrastructural items, ranging anywhere between $54 million to $86 million. Naturally, not all teams can afford to build a bespoke wind tunnel.
F1 wind tunnels are often used in a ‘Scale Model Program‘. That is to say, teams build down a model of their aerodynamic components to scale and then place them in the wind tunnel to test the aerodynamic efficiency as well as correlate the results with their own estimations and predictions. Wind tunnels are pretty complex. However, they have the advantage of cheaper testing modules, accuracy and flexibility.
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After years of planning, preparation and construction, the new wind tunnel at the MTC is up and running!#F1
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 2, 2023
The data that is extrapolated is used very reliably by the engineers who can then amend their designs to build the actual race car components. Teams often test their aerodynamic components on a wind tunnel first before chiseling out the actual parts and running them on the track. Unfortunately, getting access to one is not easy.
Even if a team can raise up enough money to build their own wind tunnel, they cannot use it as much as they want. As it turns out, the FIA has a pretty stringent ruleset when allocating development time and resources to their wind tunnel activities.
FIA’s Wind Tunnel testing regulations explained
Talking about the amount of time teams can spend on the tunnel, the FIA has introduced stringent CFD [Computational Fluid Dynamics] regulations. Basically, these regulations ensure that there is a dedicated allocation of how many components and how many hours each team can use during the ATR [Aerodynamic Testing Restrictions] period.
These restrictions were introduced by the FIA to ensure a level playing field. The rules target the most successful teams and allow the lower-placed teams more time in the Wind Tunnel to develop their cars.
Wind-tunnel time allocation for 2024:
Haas – 1380 hours
Stake F1 Team – 1320 hours
AlphaTauri – 1260 hours
Williams – 1200 hours
Alpine – 1140 hours
Aston Martin – 1080 hours
McLaren – 1020 hours
Ferrari – 960 hours
Mercedes – 900 hours
Red Bull – 840 hours— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) January 3, 2024
For instance, in 2024, Red Bull (being the Constructors’ champions in 2023) will have only 840 hours/28 weekly sessions whilst 10th placed Haas will enjoy 1380 hours/46 weekly sessions in the Wind Tunnel.
This is a very crucial step for many reasons. The stronger teams are usually richer, and if given an advantage, they will run away with almost everything, leaving little for the not-so-financially strong outfits. With the 2024 season just weeks away, almost all the work back at the factories is done. That doesn’t mean the wind-tunnels are shut down. They will keep running, providing valuable data to all the engineers.
One team that is particularly happy with their aerodynamic development is Mercedes. They have a state of the art wind tunnel at their factory in Brackley. In fact, when Lewis Hamilton recently visited the campus, he expressed his delight at how nice the W15 looked.
