Melvin: You shouldn’t give up on wind tunnels

The plan to completely phase out wind tunnels by 2030 and move to computational fluid dynamics (CFD) research is one of the most important measures to further reduce the costs and environmental impact of F1 teams.

The idea is supported by eight of the ten championship teams. McLaren and Aston Martin have invested heavily in new wind tunnels in recent years, but Red Bull Racing is also developing a similar project.

Arron Melvin, head of aerodynamics at the Haas F1, also thinks it is not wise to completely abandon traditional research methods.

“There are fast race cars that have been tested in a minimum wind tunnel, but not in Formula 1,” he told RacingNews365. – We need to understand what we want to see in the future of our series. But a fast and safe racing car can of course also be done without a wind tunnel.

But I don’t think it’s a smart move to cut costs. While urging us to maximize the use of CFD opportunities, the right measure is to be enshrined in regulation.

I fully support the proposals to change the regulations to change this balance in favor of CFD, but in Formula 1 they are so good at doing research in wind tunnels that it should not be banned. Although it is of course quite possible to reduce the investment in this area.”

The total annual research costs of champion teams are billions of pounds sterling, and these are just operating costs, and there is still a fairly large payroll for specialists who work on, maintain and repair this complex equipment.

In addition, Formula 1 expects to be CO2 neutral in 2030 and the scrapping of wind tunnels is seen as one of the important steps in that direction. Of course, digital technologies are constantly improving and the future will show which research methods will become optimal, but so far classic wind tunnels remain one of the most effective tools.