Parts of an F1 Car Although at the time this article is published the Formula 1 season will have ended, I wanted to use this month’s edition as one final opportunity to explain the basics of F1 before diving into the world of the off season. Now It’s time for me to do exactly that; explain the basics to the parts of an F1 car and the flags that can be waived on track. 

Chassis Beginning with parts of an F1 car, I’ll start at the foundation of the car; where all the aerodynamic parts connect and are built off of - the chassis. The chassis of the car, shown in the attached picture, actually decreases downforce because it’s at the heart of the car and is covered up by the sidepods, front wing, underfloor, and other bodywork. In other words, since there is no direct air flowing around the chassis, it provides no aerodynamic advantage or downforce. It also houses the main internal components of the car, like the engine. 

Front Wing Next, we have the front wing where the air hits the car first. With its noticeable upwards staircase shape, it cuts through the air producing a large amount of drag but also a decent amount of downforce in exchange, since the air flowing above it drives the car into the ground. Each of the steps in the staircase analogy can be adjusted, as explained in October’s edition, upwards to produce more drag and more downforce, or downwards for the opposite effect. Teams often bring different models of front wings to different races, depending on how many turns a track has and how many straights it has. Front wings can be changed during pit stops. 

Front and Rear Suspension The suspension of the car connects the wheels to the Chassis of the car and is designed to smoothen the ride over bumps on the track and kerbs. It is designed as aerodynamically efficient as possible to direct the airflow to the rest of the car as a team wants but still cannot make up for the loss of downforce from giant 18-inch tires. 

Sidepods Now, to the right and the left of the Chassis are the sidepods which are designed almost symmetrically with giant radiator inlets for the air to flow through to cool the engine and the other main internal components. The exterior structure of the sidepods are shaped in a way which directs the airflow downstream towards the rear of the car, as a team desires. The sidepods are grouped with the chassis and compose the main portion of “bodywork” as shown in the attached picture. 

Underfloor In modern Formula 1, the technical regulations currently place the race cars in a ground effect era. This means most of the aerodynamic benefit generated, in downforce, is actually seen beneath the car, in its underfloor. How that works is seen in the underfloor’s design, with the floor fences, or the initial openings seen outside of the car’s underfloor being very wide, to suck in as much air as possible underneath the car. From there, the air goes through tunnels, known as venturi tunnels, which narrow towards the middle of the car, sucking the car towards the ground and generating immense amounts of downforce in the process. The tunnels then widen again as they reach the rear of the car, or the diffuser, so the air can flow smoothly out from beneath the car, maximizing downforce, and minimizing turbulence in the rear. 

Rear Wing Finally, the Rear wing of an F1 car. The rear wing is the final place air flows on an F1 car, serving as a giant wedge which throws the air upwards off the car, generating most of the car’s drag, but also a decent amount of downforce. The wing throws so much air upwards that when a competitor is close behind the car in front of them on the straights their top speed is increased, as an area of undisturbed air develops because it has been misplaced upwards by the car ahead’s rear wing. As stated before, the rear wing is inconvenient in the sense that its giant wedge shape also generates a large amount of drag, slowing down the speed of F1 cars on straights down to an average of 210-220 mph, with the record set during a race at 231 mph. This is despite the efforts of the rear wing being home to the DRS system, explained in October’s edition. The angle of the rear wing can be adjusted during practice, with a greater angle maximizing downforce, but increasing drag, and a smaller angle having the opposite effect. Teams also bring different models of rear wings to different tracks, depending on how many straights and corners it has, since you can only adjust the angle so much during practice. 

Flags: Yellow Flag Now, moving to the second part of the article; it’s time to explain the flags that aerodynamic masterpieces of F1 cars have to follow, starting with the yellow flag. The yellow flag can be waved in two ways; single waved and double waved. A single waved yellow flag indicates that there is a hazard beside or partially on the track either in a turn or one of the track’s sectors. (Every F1 track is divided into three sectors of equal length.) A driver must slow down in this region of the track and prepare to move around the hazard. A double waved yellow flag indicates to a driver they must slow their speed significantly in this region of the track and be prepared to stop or drive around a hazard because it is in the middle of the track or a decent amount of it. Hazards can range from cars, car debris, gravel, etc. During a race if the hazard needs action (to be cleared) a safety car can be deployed or a virtual safety car in less severe scenarios in which a speed limit is set for drivers to follow throughout the entirety of the track. Red flag The red flag indicates a session suspension, either to be postponed or completely ended due to excessively poor weather conditions, or a very dire serious incident. All drivers must head to the pitlane and await further instruction. Green Flag The track has been cleared of all hazards and drivers can drive normally, or the track is clear at the start of a session. Blue Flag This flag indicates slower traffic to a faster car behind and needs to get out of the way ASAP. It also means a driver needs to get out of the way during the race because they are getting lapped. White Flag Similarly to the blue flag, the white flag alerts faster drivers that there are much slower cars ahead, which are usually cars with mechanical problems. Yellow Flag with Red Stripes When this flag is waved, it’s to alert drivers that a deterioration in grip levels due to oil or water are on the track ahead. Black Flag The Black flag alerts a driver that they are disqualified from a session. Black Flag with an Orange disc (Meatball Flag)   The flag is lovingly referred to as the “meatball flag” because the orange disc in the center of the flag looks like a meatball. This flag alerts a driver that their car has a mechanical problem (like a piece of the car hanging off which needs attending to in the pits ASAP) as it poses an immediate threat to other drivers. If the problem cannot be solved in the pits, the car must retire from the race, which means they must end their race prematurely. Black and White Flag This flag warns a driver that they have been reported for unsportsmanlike conduct, and should be more careful with whatever they have been reported for, or for going off track limits too many times and are on their final track limits warning. Chequered Flag Finally, the chequered flag lets all drivers know that the session they are in has ended. That’s all for this month’s edition, be sure to come back next month for the highlights of the 2025 Formula 1 Championship!