It’s something you’ve probably heard a million times as a Formula 1 fan—that the cars make enough downforce that they could theoretically drive upside down. Of course, nobody’s ever actually done it, because practical concerns make proving the theory incredibly difficult. Regardless, one man is eager to achieve such a feat, and he’s stumped up […]
Formula 1 cars of the late ‘70s - early ‘80s used the newly developed (by Lotus) ground effects to enhance negative lift by using the forward motion of the car to create low pressure under the car using venturis in each side pod and sliding skirts along the sides to seal in the vacuum. They could generate more downforce than the weight of car, like 3,000 lbs or more - enough in theory to enable them to stick to an inverted road surface if transitioned using a helical ramp. Lotus with Mario Andretti started experimenting with the effect in 1976 after doing rolling road wind tunnel tests, inspired by the British WW2 plane the Mosquito that had radiators buried in the wings.
Formula 1 cars of the late ‘70s - early ‘80s used the newly developed (by Lotus) ground effects to enhance negative lift by using the forward motion of the car to create low pressure under the car using venturis in each side pod and sliding skirts along the sides to seal in the vacuum. They could generate more downforce than the weight of car, like 3,000 lbs or more - enough in theory to enable them to stick to an inverted road surface if transitioned using a helical ramp. Lotus with Mario Andretti started experimenting with the effect in 1976 after doing rolling road wind tunnel tests, inspired by the British WW2 plane the Mosquito that had radiators buried in the wings.