DOWNFORCE DESIGNER
Drag the trailing edges. Dial the slot. Toggle the 2026 Active Aero between Z-Mode (cornering) and X-Mode (straight). A real Hess-Smith panel-method solver runs in your browser and plots downforce and drag across the full F1 speed range — both modes, side by side.
— panels
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— ms
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Clclosed = — · Clopen = —
Wing Controls
Downforce vs Speed
Drag vs Speed
WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING
This isn't a lookup table or a smoothed curve. The numbers you're seeing come from a 2D potential-flow solver running on your geometry the moment you let go of the handle.
Panel Method
Each airfoil surface is sliced into ~120 small panels. Each panel carries an unknown source and shared vortex strength. We assemble a linear system from the no-penetration boundary condition at every panel midpoint plus a Kutta condition at each trailing edge, then solve. The Hess-Smith formulation is the same one taught in graduate-level aerodynamics courses (Anderson §3.17, Kuethe & Chow §5.10).
2026 Active Aero (Z-Mode / X-Mode)
The 2026 regulations retired DRS in favor of Active Aero. Two driver-selectable modes: Z-Mode (high-downforce cornering configuration) and X-Mode (low-drag straight-line configuration). Switching to X-Mode rotates the rear flap open about its forward hinge, reducing effective camber — circulation drops, downforce drops, induced drag (Cl² term) drops sharply. The wing essentially un-loads itself for the straight. Net win: roughly +10–20 km/h of top speed, paid for in lost rear grip. The system is no longer limited to designated zones the way DRS was — it's continuously available within FIA-monitored speed and torque windows.
Drag Has Three Sources
An inviscid panel method gives you lift for free but zero drag (D'Alembert's paradox). We add three empirical terms: skin friction from turbulent flat-plate theory (Cf = 0.074 / Re^0.2), form factor for thickness (Hoerner), and a separation penalty that ramps in past the stall angle. Plus induced drag from finite aspect ratio.
Why Two Dimensions?
F1 rear wings are roughly constant-section across the span (modulo endplates and gurney flaps), so a 2D analysis captures most of the physics at a tiny fraction of the compute. Full 3D CFD takes hours per geometry; this solves in under 15 milliseconds. Trade: we miss endplate tip vortices and span-wise pressure variation. Close enough for understanding the trade-offs.