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I think that these vortices will detach and be counter rotating with bulk outwash btwn them. The benefit of this could be creating more outwash using the side pod for the upper front tyre wake. It's a really interesting design, and I wonder if more teams could be looking at this option as well.

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Obv, having the CFD would help, but I think that the inlet pressure is > than the local pressure on either side. The upper edge will have the downwash from the shark inlet, so ⬇️ P. The bottom edge could just be marginally less, even though you will have some forward undercut pressure built up here.

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Both of the extended upper and lower edges look like vortex shedding edges. So it's safe to say that there is some rotation along these edges. But how to resolve the direction?

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Been thinking about this new Sauber Side Pod intake since I first saw it. Pretty cool little design. Here is what I THINK is happening. 🧵

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So tribal. Even creators and analysts arguing with one another

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

..while still holding the mid wake of the front tyre outboard. A wonderful example of aero driven packaging.

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

The space between the rads and the exhaust headers is where the depression is in the sidepod, with the headers forming the “tail” of the tadpod. This allows Merc to maximize the downwash of the sidepod transition into the rear coke, and slim the shape of outboard sidepod volume maximizing undercut..

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Some are calling the new Mercedes W16 side pod the “tadpod” as it looks like the shape of a tadpole. Pitlane shots from Albert Park now shows how Mercedes did this. You can see the “belly” of the tadpole shape where the rads are located and stacked.

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

For the blue arrow, we can also see a bit of the boundary layer as the slower moving air upstream of the suspension junction doesn't have as much paint. The influence of the solid body creates an upstream pressure build up that helps to deflect some of the air around it. @xavigazquez.bsky.social

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

LOVE FLOW VIS!! RB21 here... Red arrow shows that the aero neutral suspension arms aren't as down washing as some might expect. This shows an upwards trajectory after the rear leg from the flow coming off the front wing. We do see some downward deflection from the flow UNDER the trailing arm.

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Just so happens @mollym-o.bsky.social and I just recorded the next episode of the @brakingbiaspod.bsky.social today! We talk exactly about this! Episode will be out soon and we both go into detail on it!

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Also, you would not run a RW flow vis with DRS open. It’s a time averaged flow field visualization, and you wouldn’t change the flow fields this drastically for time averaged results. You would get a jumbled mess. Also validated by F1Talks on X that it was indeed closed.

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So to see these two regions of what looks like high shear, and a clear line of flow pattern difference just sparked my curiosity. Not saying this is 100% mini-DRS, nor do I know for sure what it is. But even speaking with other aero’s it’s very curious.

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

When I first saw the flow vis posted by @xaviimages I knew something was a bit off. It’s not typical that you see these types of patterns. Even with the new cut end wings (see MCL from 2023) the junction from where the DRS and end piece meet is usually uniform and neat…

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Hell of a week last week huh? 😂😂

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

A good look at how the Mercedes W16 forward floor is working. Pretty standard solutions today using a small forward edge gurney, and integrated curl with VG's on the edge wing. Always a good thing to explain for some that may not have seen this before.

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Really interesting look here at the RB21 G-Line. There seems to be a slight bulge maybe in the floor (Blue) which funnels the floor edge wing inflow into a particular position. Possibly some influence from the forward curl? The mechanics here are fascinating.

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Then along the g-line we can see the outwash of air pulled down into the floor edge wing. More than likely spinning up some structures that load up the floor edge and clean up the diffuser. (Lower arrows)

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Then here we can see the air from alongside the center cooling box migrating down into the water slide where low pressure suction is building as it ramps down. (Top arrow)

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and the higher pressure at the SP inlet and under wing then pushing this air down onto the floor top deck and into the undercut. It’s clear as day.

Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

A good photo from Mateusz M on X where we can draw a few observations from this. Firstly, we can see the influence of the floor leading edge in helping to upwash some of the inboard air from the nose and FW,

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I used to teach children on Sunday mornings and enjoyed it. I thought about maybe making a kids series as well.

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

Williams gave us a nice shot of this with some of their flow vis during testing in 2024. You can see the additional challenge of the push rod front suspension with the quite complex junction geometry. This is the cool stuff we have to look forward to in testing next week!!

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

Nice graphic showing the types of vortices that can be formed at the junction of two surfaces. Easy to see this as an example of the a-arm fairing junction with the monocoque. Without junction fairings (gaiters or flexis) the losses could be disruptive to distress aero elements

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

A fresh new aero analysis of the Ferrari SF-25 from the shakedown photos. Click the link below to watch along! www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P0L...

youtube.com

Ferrari SF 25 Aero Analysis

YouTube video by Dr Obbs

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

"Yep that's me.... you re probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.. "

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Working in tandem with the mirror shape and the outwashing turning vane. I say this a lot, but it's so true. It's like different notes in a symphony all working together to make music. Simply lovely.

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

I love how this image shows the natural relationship and intent of aero features to serve a purpose. The alignment of the leading edge of the shark bite with the upwashing flow from the front wing, the outboard sidepod shape to build static pressure to hold the upper front tyre wake outboard…

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Nice top shot of the FW47 showing the minimal engine cover gulleys. You can see how they work to hold the cockpit losses high and keep it contained. This keeps the losses from migrating down the engine cover and into the water slide on the sidepod feeding much needed energy to the rear of the car.

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

.. could help to suppress those junction losses on the back half of this cockpit strake.

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Cheeky little tech feature on the MCL39. It's a split strake with a single slot bypass on the lower half. Like a multi-element wing, this slot gap helps to energize this lower half where junction losses at the intersecting point with the body would be present. This slot bypass..

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Dr. Obbs @dr-obbs.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

MotoGP aero is getting really fun to watch. Stacked wings, cascading winglets. Lots of fun stuff to see here. All in the name of bringing some rear load, and slimming wakes from bluff structures. 😍😍

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This is why I feel that teams will continue to push on with updating and refining their floor body and edge designs. As the left image from a study by Latios shows, these vortex systems are closely linked. And gains in one area could positively impact the performance of another.

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This is why the floor edge, and underbody contours are so important. They work together to provided the car a stable load profile through all different corner types. Should high roll, kerbs, or pitch sensitivity be present, the entire floor performance would suffer.

https://tameaero.wordpress.com/2024/08/28/analysis-the-modern-f1-car-part-iii/

https://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30329&sid=e01e6a4e090132930ffad529844cb8ad

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Thus, inflow from the floor edge is important. Any loss in load from the floor edge leakage, or blow up of edge structures may create local adverse press that will negatively impact vortex health. Additionally, these same losses may be cascaded into the diffuser reducing floor extraction..

At the Venturi inlet, curved fences are used, and one purpose is to help bring vorticity into the floor body. From Katz book, the trends show clearly that this vorticity helps to increase the floor suction, so their health and translation through the floor body can’t be stated enough.

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As we already know, diffuser performance is key for the health and performance of the entire floor. Any losses in this area robs the diffuser of useable volume for floor performance. Venturi style ground effect cars rely on underbody suction to bring big gains...

without sliding skirts to minimize or utilize leakage flow. McLaren and other teams made key developments in this area on their way to improving the balance of their car. As the image shows (tame aero blog) rotational flow at the rear corner of the floor edge migrates into the diffuser.