WILLIAMS – ALWAYS LOOKING TO FLOOR IT
Made out of carbon fibre, the floor of an F1 car – here the Williams FW38 – is bolted to the monocoque, gearbox, and engine. In the foreground, one can spot the splitter then the bargeboards, as well as the areas close to the exhaust pipes that have been covered with insulating material.
In the background, there is the upper part of the diffuser. The floor is also fitted with a series of cables and sensors. Sitting in the middle is the reference plane, which is also the lowest part of the car, while the main floor (basically the area on both sides of the reference plane) is 5cm higher. Working in conjunction with the diffuser, the floor generates around half of the aerodynamic downforce on an F1 car, with minimum drag.
