What Is ‘Rake’ and How Has It Shaped Formula One Design?
Although rake may be gaining popularity in the sport, one team has won multiple championships without it.
As we make our way into the second leg of the F1 season, it begins to become obvious which teams will be fighting for the top spots of the driver’s and constructor’s championships and which teams are simply out of the running. In the last couple of races, the young gun from Red Bull, Max Verstappen, has been gaining ground in points, winning two of the last three races in Austria and Germany. This fact has put the ever-dominant Mercedes team in check, showing them that it is capable for another team to win consistently. What could be the make or break factor helping Red Bull win races?
Well, when we break it down to a mechanical level, both Red Bull and Mercedes car design is staunchly different. One of the most obvious differentiation? Rake. Thanks to Autosport‘s YouTube channel, we will be able to understand what exactly this concept is and how it works.
To be put into clear and simple terms, rake means that one end of the car is lower or higher than the other. Depending on which side of the car this happens, it is either positive rake or negative rake. Positive being when the front of the car is lower than the rear and negative being the opposite. The first team to really reap the aerodynamics benefits of running positive rake was Red Bull. Jake of Autosport gets to opportunity to learn more about this at the Red Bull museum.
Essentially, when the car has positive rake, it forces negative pressure on the front end of the car, forcing the air exit the rear with increased pressure, thus, creating more rear grip. This causes the body of car acts as one large aerodynamic object, all focusing on the rear diffuser. This is keenly displayed on Red Bull’s RB14 (2018 car) as the floor beginning at the side pod area is obviously lower than the rear end of the floor board nearby the rear wheel.
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With this design, they are able to run a smaller rear wing, which allows for less drag and thus, higher top speeds and better acceleration. Since the rake setup effects the whole structure of the car, even the end plate and foot plate on the front wing are designed to not bottom-out due to the diving effect that heavy braking has with a rake-based setup.
However, Mercedes, the most dominant team of this era of Formula One, has gone on to win multiple championships without a car based on a rake setup. What will be the best design for the future with Red Bull winning more and more races? We will have to wait and see. What do you guys think of the Formula One season so far? Let us know in the comments below.
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