© F1i
THE BULL JOINS THE HERD
As the season progresses, technical solutions begin to converge. Thus, the longitudinal slits seen on the edges of the flat bottom become longer and longer on many cars.
Present since the beginning of the season on both the McLaren and the Renault, these slits appeared on the Ferrari and the Force India in Spain, then on the Toro Rosso in Austria, and were modified on the SF71-H in Great Britain.
These longitudinal slits seek to bring high-pressure air from above the floor to go under the car, in order to create a kind of skirt, which seals the edges of the diffuser. By coming into contact with the low-pressure air flowing under the floor, the high pressure air will generate vortices that constitute a kind of wall. Like the skirts" of the 1970s, this wall will, on the one hand, seal the gap between the flat bottom and the track and, on the other hand, protect the diffuser from the dirty wake caused by the rotation of the rear wheels (“tyre wake”).
