Why do F1 cars have pitot pipes? This is what they do – Jalopnik

Brand new Formula 1 cars roll on the right track for the winter tests for the first time every year. While spectators try to gauge the pecking order of the field at the start of the season, the teams fit their cars with metal arrays strewn with sensors to better understand the aerodynamic performance of their machines. The Pitot tubes mounted on this Aero rake are of vital instruments for development, which serve as the bridge between simulation data and the real world. However, there are a few pitot tubes that are mounted on the car full -time to collect data, such as at the front of the monocoque.

F1 tests is not the first use case that comes to mind when you talk about pitot pipes. The sensors are usually used on aircraft to determine air speed by measuring dynamic pressure. According to Formula 1The teams mount aero rake behind the front and rear wheels to visualize the wake that comes from the wings and other aerodynamic surfaces by reading the air speed at various points around the car. All pitot pipes are connected to a black box mounted on the carrosserie of the car. It may sound like a lot of data to crunch, but the information is almost processed in real time and pumps displayed images and videos.

The most important use of this data is correlation. Time time is perhaps a precious source, but time with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and the wind tunnel is in abundance compared to. The teams must ensure that the results of factory work are accurate in real-world conditions. For example, the pitot tubes can detect a wing stall based on a fall-off in the Wake’s Airspeed that did not appear in simulations. Rob Smedley, former F1 -Race -Engineer, explained how frustrating it can be if there is no correlation The website of the championship in 2019:

“To be honest, it’s the biggest pain in the butt.

Although it can be frustrating to see talented drivers hamper through insufficient equipment, the technical weapon race has been a crucial element of Formula 1 since the inaugural season of the world championship in 1950. The implementation of a cost hood in 2021 added another complexity layer. The new limitations have also closed the number of CFD and wind tunnel hours on a sliding bowl. The worst team receives the most hours and the champions get the least. No matter how things change, winning a world championship will remain a multi -year effort.