F1 what are the rakes for on the single-seaters used in the tests

In the session in Bahrain all the cars showed large grilles in front of the radiators in the early stages: here’s why they are used and what they are for

In the F1 test session underway in Bahrain, the only one before the start of the 2023 World Championship, the teams initially aim to verify the correct functioning of the single-seater components (accelerator, brakes, hydraulics and electronics), to move on to aerodynamic comparisons , to the correct functioning of the power unit and then to the search for reliability and performance.

f1, the importance of rakes

Of all the single-seaters involved in the three days in Bahrain, the most obvious tools used are the big ones rakes aerodynamics mounted mainly in front of the radiators, although not exclusively in this area. What are they for? They are simply some grillscomposed of tiny tubes attached in various positions to monitor the air flow in that area of ​​the car thanks to special sensors.

data comparison

The use of these grids allows the teams to verify the correlation of the data emerging from the wind tunnel or CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) with respect to the reality of the track. The car, in this set-up condition, allows to provide the most realistic results and the use of the rakes allows a very exhaustive data collection. There data comparison it is important to understand if there are any errors in the wind tunnel or in the CFD modeling, to avoid taking a wrong turn in the design of a part or component that at the baptism of the track does not work as expected.

for the performance

Obviously, in the assault on time the grids are removed, for this reason the rakes are usually seen at the beginning of the day and then removed when the work revolves around the search for absolute performance.



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