A4 10 It's Dragging

Abstract

Elevated ambient temperatures can enhance Formula 1 car performance because the reduction in air density outweighs the accompanying increase in viscosity. This study models these effects using Sutherland’s law for viscosity and ideal-gas scaling for density over a 10^◦C to 35^◦C range at sea level, where viscosity rises by ≈ 6.8% and density decreases by ≈ 8.1%. Drag scalings with an 80:20 form-to friction split yield a ≈ 7.6% total drag reduction at fixed speed, implying comparable savings in required power and energy per unit distance.