Force India brought a host of new parts to Bahrain which are aimed at reducing the VJM10’s weight and bolstering its aerodynamic performance.
The team have a solid reputation for rapidly improving their car during the mid-season before their budget eventually runs dry towards the end of the year, so seeing developments from them at this stage is encouraging for what should be a great fight with Williams and Renault.
Having identified that the bargeboard region has a lot of potential in 2017, the team have wasted no time in optimising their existing concept by adding a series of serrations to both the primary bargeboard [highlighted yellow below] and also the triangular section of floor behind [see arrows below].
Ten (yes, 10) aerofoil elements are staggered along the top of the main bargeboard, allowing the air to filter between both sides of the vane and entwine to form a spiralling torrent of airflow.
The board’s trailing edge sits on the axe head part of the floor and is set quite far forward from the sidepod, which means the air has to be worked with in a much shorter space.
Introducing more slots helps turn the airflow around the sidepod more sharply as the low pressure region behind the board is less likely to separate. Although holes are allowed in the floor ahead of the sidepod this year, Force India have opted to serrate the periphery of the exposed triangular section. The lipped surface around each serration encourages the air to dive underneath the car and mingle with the high velocity stream. This area of the floor is critical to the car’s centre of pressure as there is a concentration of lowpressure that must be managed carefully. The floor serrations and indeed the revised bargeboards will help reduce disturbances across a wide flow speed range.
