- Graham Hill, Monaco, 1968. First use of aerodynamic wings on an F1 car.

The First Flight in F1

Its hard to imagine an F1 car without the front and rear wings. However, they weren't always there. Where and when were they first used, and by who?

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Aerodynamics have been part of F1's DNA from the very beginning, even before the use of wings. Early F1 engineers understood the concept of drag, and designed cars to be as streamlined as possible so as to reduce its effects. So, it can come as a surprise to some that F1 had been late to the aero wing party for more than a decade!

Michael May's Porsche.

Michael May's Porsche.

Indeed, the first implementation of an aerodynamic wing goes back to 1956, 12 years before the first use in F1 in 1968. A gentleman named Michael May - a Swiss racing driver and engineer - had attempted to correct the problem of early racing cars losing grip or going airborne due to generating lift. He realised that an inverted aerofoil could be used to generate negative lift. He attached it to his Porsche 550 Spyder RS in the 1956 1000km of Nürburgring race, outqualifying the factory Porsches by 4 seconds.

An even more surprising aspect of the wing is that it was not static. May used a lever in the cockpit to change the wing's orientation while on the move, reducing the wing's angle of attack on the straights to reduce drag, and increasing it in the braking and corners to maximise downforce. Thus, he used a version of DRS over 5 decades before F1 officially implemented it in 2011. The wing proved so successful that Porsche launched a complaint, claiming it obstructed the view for the drivers behind. May conceded and was forced to remove the wing.

Michael May's exploits would not go unnoticed. His work would go on to pave the way for the innovation of aerodynamics in Motorsports.

Monaco 1968 - The First Use of Wings in Formula 1

Graham Hill leading the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix in his winged Lotus.

Graham Hill leading the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix in his winged Lotus.

More than a decade after Michael May's Porsche, a certain Colin Chapman, along with Maurice Philippe, would change F1 forever.

The 1968 Monaco Grand Prix marked the first time wings were used on an F1 car. For the tight, challenging streets of Monaco, Lotus introduced their new Lotus 49B. The wings, attached to the nose of the car, provided much-needed grip for the tricky track. This innovation helped propel them to a victory, with Graham Hill taking the top step of the podium.

After the introduction of the wings by Lotus, the subsequent Belgian Grand Prix saw Ferrari add a strut-mounted rear wing to their main driver Chris Amon's car. Amon went on to get pole position by a whopping 4 seconds in front of the next fastest driver Jackie Stewart. Brabham also fitted a rear wing to Jack Brabham's car, as well as dive planes similar to the Lotus. In fact, over the course of the 1968 season, many other F1 teams would utilise and expand upon this technology.

Colin Chapman's innovation would pave the road for Lotus to take their third Constructors' Championship Title, with Graham Hill taking home his second, and ultimate, Drivers' Championship win.

As teams competed to get an advantage on the track from this new technology, bigger and bigger wings would be used to maximise the cornering capability of their cars. With the wings growing to monstrous proportions, the new 'high wing' era of F1 was born. This new wing measuring contest would reach its climax during the 1969 Spanish Grand Prix.

During the race, Lotus teammates Graham Hill and Jochen Rindt both suffered a collapse of their rear wings at the same corner and as a result, were sent off spinning into the barriers. Although Hill was unhurt in his accident, the wreckage of his car would compound Rindt's misfortunes. Rindt suffered a broken nose, facial cuts, and a skull fracture as he collided with his teammate's car and rolled over.

These incidents, along with Jochen Rindt's strongly worded letter he wrote during his hospital stay, would bring the end of the high wing era in F1. Aerodynamic wings would be banned for the subsequent Monaco Grand Prix, although they would return the following race under stricter regulations. The new regulations stated that:

- The maximum height, width, and locations of the wings are controlled.

- Aerodynamic devices are to be of fixed geometry with no movable parts.

- They have to be rigidly attached to bodywork.

With these new limitations in place, engineers were now forced to find other ways of increasing downforce to improve grip, which has remained a crucial design goal in Formula One ever since.

Jacky Ickx at the 1968 Dutch Grand Prix.

Jacky Ickx at the 1968 Dutch Grand Prix.

Chapman had inadvertently started F1's biggest arms race. Although under stricter regulations since the 60s, wings have come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, as engineers endeavour to gain the slightest advantage in Formula One's unending pursuit of excellence.

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Comments (4)

  • Nice history, that orange McLaren a classic sight but..... those intricate, artistic exhaust piping of the Ferrari... love it. LOTUS, the leaders with so many innovations.

      11 months ago
    • F1 cars of that era were truly pieces of art!

        11 months ago
    • Much more so than today!

      I remember some shenanigans in the late 90s by a team (I want to say Tyrrell, but don't quote me on this as I'm not very knowledgeable on F1, or motorsports in general) who added extra wings next to the cockpit. I...

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        11 months ago
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