It’s something you’ve probably heard a million times as a Formula 1 fan—that the cars make enough downforce that they could theoretically drive upside down. Of course, nobody’s ever actually done it, because practical concerns make proving the theory incredibly difficult. Regardless, one man is eager to achieve such a feat, and he’s stumped up […]
If an F1 car generates 5x its weight in downforce at 200 mph, then at half the speed it’s only making 1.25x its weight, as downforce increases with the square of speed. Which would mean that if it were upside down at 100 mph, there would only be a quarter of its weight in “up” force holding it on the track. For safety reasons and to avoid having to make the tunnel longer than necessary, they need something that can generate at least 2x the weight in downforce at the lowest speed possible.
The hillclimb car they are modifying can achieve that target downforce: weight ratio at only 80 mph, significantly better than an F1 car.
If an F1 car generates 5x its weight in downforce at 200 mph, then at half the speed it’s only making 1.25x its weight, as downforce increases with the square of speed. Which would mean that if it were upside down at 100 mph, there would only be a quarter of its weight in “up” force holding it on the track. For safety reasons and to avoid having to make the tunnel longer than necessary, they need something that can generate at least 2x the weight in downforce at the lowest speed possible.
The hillclimb car they are modifying can achieve that target downforce: weight ratio at only 80 mph, significantly better than an F1 car.