That is exactly the story behind the S-duct in Formula 1. It was an idea that was thrust on to the track by Ferrari as something quite radical back in 2008, could not be carried forward because of new regulation, but has since made a return to now become the norm.

The Ferrari F2008 was the first car to feature this incredibly novel solution when it appeared at the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix.

However, looking back at the launch spec of the car, it was clear that Ferrari had the idea to feature it right from the off.

Ferrari F2008 front suspension

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

The chassis featured a cutout in the top surface that had been there since the car's launch, and had been covered by a wedge-shaped panel up until its new nose design arrived.

The new nose, the centre-piece to this design concept, featured a bellmouth inlet on its underside and an exit on the rear that not only aligned with the chassis cutout but also created another exit just ahead of it.

The overall intent of the 'S' duct is to tidy up the flow on the underside of the nose that leads to the bargeboards, the leading edge of the floor and the sidepods.

By adding an inlet under the nose at a point where the airflow becomes turbulent you can manage this problem, refocus it and then redistribute it in a less sensitive location.

As with any complex solution, the advantage created from the aerodynamic aspect of installing an 'S' duct solution has to outweigh the drawbacks, with the design and weight of the whole solution to be taken into account, especially when we consider this is a structure that must be able to undergo the rigours of a crash test.

What goes around, comes around

The 2009 regulation change was extensive, having an immediate impact on the downforce that the cars generated and how they did it.

The rule changes also prevented teams from adopting the Ferrari style of S-duct. There was a new stipulation that a single cross section of the nose must not feature any holes.

Further tweaks to the rules in this area were made after Mercedes used a front-wing stalling double DRS system. It was subsequently ruled that any aperture more than 150mm ahead of the front wheel centreline should only be for driver cooling.

There was enough scope, however, for teams to try to regain the advantage of the S-duct, with Sauber the first to re-introduce the concept.

Even with a very severe limitation caused by the 150mm rule, plus the fact the ramp was very brutal, the gain was still enough to make the solution worthwhile.

Since then, the idea has been refined further with every team approaching it slightly differently – but all of them aiming to deliver the advantage that Ferrari unlocked all the way back in 2008.

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