Formula 1 aerodynamics in the 1970s

For most of the 1970s, there seems to have been a fundamental schism in the front-end aerodynamic concept of Formula 1 cars. Some of the cars, such as the McLarens, Lotuses and Ferraris, continued to run with front wings, but another group appeared to abandon that concept for most of the decade, running instead a front spoiler/airdam/splitter. This latter group included luminaries such as March, Brabham and Tyrrell, with Jackie Stewart winning the 1971 and 1973 World Championships in Tyrrell designs sporting just such a front-end.

So what was the idea? Well, part of the motivation was presumably to reduce the lift, drag and turbulence created by the front wheels. The front spoilers were much wider than front wings, and partially shrouded the front wheels, diverting airflow down the sides of the car.

So that was part of the idea. The other possible motive is perhaps more interesting, because it involves ground-effect. A spoiler/airdam provides a vertical barrier which (i) maximises the high pressure stagnation point at the front of the car, and (ii) accelerates the airflow through the restricted gap between the spoiler/airdam and the ground surface. A horizontal splitter projecting from the bottom of the spoiler/airdam then takes advantage of the high pressure of the stagnation point to generate some extra downforce.

A front airdam/spoiler is partially, then, a ground-effect device, which perhaps explains why cars such as the Brabhams and Tyrrells were still able to win Grands Prix against those utilising conventional front-wing arrangements. The photo here shows a Tyrrell running quite a degree of rake, which would serve to accentuate the ground-effect of the front spoiler.

So, perhaps surprisingly, ground-effect in Formula 1 actually predates the underbody venturi tunnels and skirts used on the Lotus 78/79. And in fact, Gordon Murray began experimenting with ground-effect on the Brabham BT44 back in 1974, arriving at "an inch-deep underbody vee, something like a front airdam, but halfway down the car." (Vacuum Clean-Up, Adam Cooper, Motorsport, May 1998, pp64-69).

The introduction of underbody venturi and skirts presumably spelt the death-knell for front spoilers, as the emphasis then shifted to feeding the underbody with as much airflow as possible. Still, it would be interesting to hear from those involved, what the initial impetus was for adopting those spoilers, and how effective they really were.