The support series tech that could save F1

Each time a new rules cycle approaches in Formula 1, it faces a philosophical battle between following its heart - giving engineers the freedom to create the fastest possible car for drivers to race - and its head: the need to make the spectacle entertaining for spectators.

In a dream world, F1 would present a rulebook full of blank pages and let the likes of Adrian Newey have their way.

But in a future where F1 is going to have to fight even harder to attract fans that aren't introduced by their parents, more of the head is going to have to overrule the heart in an effort to make a more entertaining spectacle.

The innovation part should always remain. Not only does F1 pioneer new mechanical feats, it also creates technology that feeds down as far as your local supermarket. Williams Advanced Engineering's work includes a pod designed to transfer fragile babies to and from Great Ormond street, as well as a more energy-efficient open-front fridge. Compelling stuff.

Many conversations about sport come back to money, particularly in F1. So long as the reinvestment of prize money is so heavily weighted towards the top teams, those lower down will struggle to match them. It's been a fact of the championship for a long time, and will be difficult to change since some powerful voices benefit so much from it.

This funding discrepancy contributes to a huge gulf in performance, yet it remains tough for these unevenly matched cars to pass - at least without DRS. Not that I'm slating DRS. It just makes overtaking a lot easier at most tracks.

The major reason cited for the lack of non-DRS overtaking is the complicated aero at the front of the cars. They disturb the airflow to such an extent that the following car is running in turbulent, low-pressure air that the leading car has created, meaning the closer you get, the bigger the performance drop-off.

But could the answer to this problem lie with F1's little brother, Formula 2?

For 2018, F2 - the main feeder category for F1 - introduced a new car. Out went the normally aspirated four-litre V8 and in came a turbocharged 3.4-litre V6. A halo was added, while both the front and rear wings were widened and made more adjustable to create more downforce on a Dallara chassis that remained the same width as its predecessor.

When the design of the car was first revealed, some might have been worried. Adding aero to a single seater almost always means more turbulence, and less overtaking. But that hasn't proved to be the case.

"Overtaking is never easy, but the car does feel good with the turbulence" Sergio Sette Camara

Although F2 has suffered a number of problems with electronics, the clutch and engine on its new car, the one consistent factor this year has been the high quality of the racing and the many opportunities to overtake.

The drivers have a lot to say about that. It's one of the championship's strongest-ever grids, but even drivers of this calibre wouldn't be able to race close and overtake without a compliant car.

Last year's champion was Charles Leclerc; you might have heard of him. But his engineer may be a little less known. Guillaume Capietto has masterminded many GP2 successes at Prema Racing and previously ART Grand Prix. Not a bad junior single-seater CV.

After working with the F2 2018 for half a season, Capietto believes there's one key reason for the close racing.

"[F2 and Dallara] haven't put a lot more downforce on the wings, it's more in the diffuser," he explains. "It's not a drastic change, a lot of it is in the floor area.

"The downforce comes from the bottom and it means the cars are less affected by the other cars.

"The Formula 1 cars now have to have a very big rake and sophisticated aero parts.

"Formula 2 is a more simple design. You don't have to have the wing so low in Formula 2 to create the downforce because there's no rake.

"I think in F1 this is the major problem, in F1 when they follow it ruins the efficiency. It's difficult to get close."

When Capietto refers to rake, you'll see that looking at an F1 car in profile: most of them, the Red Bull especially, have a markedly nose-down attitude, with a higher rideheight at the rear end.

Set up properly, this enables all of an F1 car's sophisticated aero components to work together to achieve a high amount of peak downforce.

But as Capietto explains, when running in traffic these elements lose efficiency in the disturbed air and their effectiveness is disproportionately compromised. It's largely a result of designers prioritising a car that is quick in qualifying; and because the effect has made the cars weak in traffic, qualifying performance has become even more vital. It's a vicious circle.

The F2 drivers who piloted both last year's car and this year's have been complimentary about the new chassis, and even expressed surprise that following hasn't been a big issue for it.

"These cars have more aero than last year," says DAMS's Alexander Albon, currently third in this year's F2 championship. "I've been surprised by how well we can follow. We have a lot more downforce, so I thought following would be affected heavily for us. But that doesn't seem to be the case."

One of the surprises of this season in terms of performance on track, Carlin's Sergio Sette Camara, adds: "Overtaking is never easy, but the car does feel good with the turbulence.

"It's good because it's always difficult to change a car that is working perfectly with no issues. But it had to be done to make the car more relevant.

"It was important to make the changes, but then you run the risk of the racing not being as good. But they have managed to maintain it. The racing is always exciting."

Autosport's technical consultant Gary Anderson agrees that less complicated aero and the use of the floor and diffuser helps with following in F2.

"The downforce-producing surfaces have to be fairly robust, in other words, not working anywhere near their optimal airflow separation angles" Gary Anderson

"Because it is a one-make formula, the aerodynamics are fairly brutal," he says. "Take the front wing; it is a simple three-element wing assembly with simple endplates that still attempt to turn the airflow around the outside of the front tyre.

"The main thing is that the front wing itself has to be fairly adjustable so the downforce-producing surfaces have to be fairly robust - in other words, not working anywhere near their optimal airflow separation angles.

"The rear wing is very similar, it has a much wider range of adjustment than any wing in Formula 1, so the surfaces aren't working anywhere near the maximum.

"But one of the main things is the diffuser. It is bigger and longer, and is producing a reasonable percentage of the car's overall downforce. The underfloor is not as critical to turbulent airflow as a wing profile so the following car loses a smaller percentage of its overall downforce."

A big chunk of F1 car aerodynamic design is about optimising the vortices generated from all the small turning vanes on the front wings and bargeboard areas. These vortices subsequently affect the performance of the other aerodynamic components.

But in turbulence or when the car is in the low pressure 'pod' created by the leading car, the vortex structure falls down. Since each part's role is interconnected, when one component is unable to perform its duty the other aero parts are affected as well. This compromises the aero efficiency of the car.

Simpler wings and more aero from the diffuser and floor could be a solution to F1's problems, indeed it is even something F1 is actively considering. McLaren lobbied hard for the 2017 rules cycle to emphasise downforce generated from the floor, and although its efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, simpler front wings are coming for 2019.

Of course, F1 must never become a single make formula. And in a dream world, Newey should be given that blank book to do as he wishes.

But for the good of the championship's future, more overtaking and therefore more entertaining races must be attained by any means possible.

Limiting the amount of aero devices at the front of the car and forcing more downforce to be created by the floor could improve the racing dramatically.

While F1 is and should always be the pinnacle, it has to look at ideas to improve racing. Making wings slightly more straightforward in favour of more downforce in the floor could do just that.