re: Formula 1 2022 Preseason Thread

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I like the big "gills," or whatever you'd nickname the vents along the sidepods.

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I have a hard time believing those are really vents as they appear to be. They look bad for aerodynamics, and I've never seen anything like that before.

Edit: I just noticed the FIA model car has vents on the top of the sidepod.

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Looking at the two cars in profile, it’s clear that the 2022 car is a lot cleaner, especially around the area either side of the cockpit where the current bargeboards and other bits of aerodynamic furniture seen on the 2021 car – used to tweak and cajole airflow along the car – no longer form part of the design.

And keep your eyes peeled for the return of cooling exit louvres on the bodywork, which were banned post-2008, but are permitted again for 2022 and will be a key area of freedom for the teams to exploit.

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Interesting. I didn't know they were banned. I assumed that the bodywork was smooth to keep the airflow to the rear wing clean.

OK I saw an explanation of what's going on with the sidepods. They are very compact to allow a lot of airflow between the sidepod and the undertray. So maybe this required more venting to suck out heat more effectively. But I noticed that the Red Bull sidepod is incredibly compact as well, and they didn't need to resort to extra cooling gills. But with the bulk of the downforce now being generated by the undertray, maybe, as Obtuse has conjectured, this could be a way for teams to dirty up the air for the car behind it. This is the only car taking this approach so far. It will be interesting to see if they gain an advantage with this, or if it will turn out to be a dog.

Ferrari 2007: