Although the downwash solution has become established in Formula 1, Jody Egginton, Head of Engineering at AlphaTauri, does not see it as the only route to success
Since the introduction of the current Formula 1 regulations in 2022, teams have turned to the downwashing concept. They followed the lead of Red Bull. However, Jody Egginton from AlphaTauri emphasizes that this approach brings no guarantees and that the “devil is in the detail.”
“People are converging on each set of regulations,” “Red Bull, McLaren and some other teams have come up with really interesting development directions and everyone is looking at what the other is doing.”
“Our concept is a downwash concept, not dissimilar to other teams. But the devil is in the detail,” he emphasizes. “There are cars that aren’t on the podium every weekend, but they have some really nice features.”
“We always look at what people are doing. In the end, it’s about bringing it all together and understanding it. You really have to understand it.”
“We can all draw the downwash concept now, that’s not a problem,” Egginton continues. “But as I said, the devil is in the detail, and we’re moving forward with a lot of small details on the car.” The main aim of all Formula 1 teams is to have a car that is as complete as possible.
In other words: it works on different track types and in fast and slow corners. “There are a lot of pitfalls and things you have to watch out for,” says the AlphaTauri engineer. “But you have to make sure that the car has a good operating range and is drivable. “
“The more the regulations mature, the more important it becomes not to fall into the trap of being too attracted to a certain way of doing things and missing out on a certain driving characteristic,” Egginton warns, keeping an open mind.
“We want a wide working range so drivers can exploit the aero performance for different track types. If you want to win a championship or be very strong, you have to be consistent, and one thing we learned from 2019, ’20 to ’21, was the importance of that.”
Looking ahead to 2023, the AlphaTauri Head of Engineering highlights McLaren’s leap in performance as particularly inspiring: “McLaren is the obvious example that shows you what you can do when you understand the details. “
