← PitwallDirty Air Lab
Air reaching the car behind
cleanturbulent, slower
Streaks follow the flow. The glowing slice is the wake where the following car's front wing meets it.
Measured cost of following at this gap
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What is real here. The lap-time numbers, the curve, and how fast the wake fades with distance are measured from 2026 timing data (the race-pace model's residual at each gap, compared with clean air). The shape of the airflow (tip vortices, upwash, turbulence) is a physically motivated illustration, not a CFD result. Car modelled to the 2026 regulations; no team marks.