With the 2022 rule change on the horizon bargeboards will no longer be a feature of F1 cars, but what are they, how do they work, and will F1’s designers be able to replicate their function in 2022? The origin of bargeboards The first examples of bargeboards can be found in 1985, with both the Lotus 97T and McLaren MP4/2B cars sporting similar devices behind their front tyres. F1 cars at this point were up to 2.15m wide with a 1.4m wide body, compared to 2m wide car with a 1.6m body as has been the case since 2017 and will continue to be so from 2022, so the front tyre wake was naturally more outboard of the sensitive underbody than is the case with more contemporary cars. The front...
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