To Drive with Downforce¶
Teddy Warner| 2024 | ~2 mins
When learning to race cars, one of the steepest challenges drivers endure is mastering cornering techniques. To compete in the upper echelons of racing, drivers must navigate corners at speeds approaching the limits of tire grip.
While race car tires are designed to maintain grip even at high speeds, they have limits. As speed increases, the lateral forces while rounding corners can exceed the tire’s ability to maintain grip. In essence, at the speeds required to win, a race car’s tires cannot physically hold themselves to the track.
To account for this, engineers implement wings and underbody designs to generate a “downforce” upon the car while traveling at high enough speeds. This force increases the vertical load on the tires, effectively increasing their grip without adding additional weight.
Race car drivers must learn to utilize downforce. Doing so entails rounding corners at speeds high enough to generate sufficient vertical load. Not fast enough and the driver will understeer. Too slow and the driver will be passed.
To drive with downforce requires the confidence to continue where you can no longer rely on the tools you already hold. It requires the confidence to accelerate to a high enough speed to win, even when not facing a straight path.
Thus the bottleneck is confidence. You must believe you can continue to accelerate where your basic tools fall short and only confidence can keep you grounded.
You must seek the Torpediniformes and novel experiences, and new challenges beyond the skills and abilities you currently hold.
You must endure challenges where confidence is your only tether.
You must apply downforce.