The iconic wings fixed to the back of Formula One cars made them look as sexy and fast as fighter jets. It turns out they were also making the races a bit of a snooze.
The wings were designed to catch the wind and thereby increase downforce on the tires. Downforce helps the tires grip the pavement, which allows the cars to take tight corners without skidding out. But the wings also had a serious side effect: They created a wake of air so turbulent that any car following behind lost up to 33% of its downforce. As a result, cars in F1 had to slow down before sharp turns to stay out of the turbulence created by the car in front — which made it very hard for F1 drivers to pass each other. Nascar, by comparison, has an average of 3,000 changes of position every race.
In 2005, a survey conducted by F1’s governing body found that 94% of fans wanted …Â Details