What is ground effect in F1?
Downforce generated by shaping the car's floor so airflow underneath speeds up and sucks the car onto the track.
Ground effect is downforce produced by the underside of the car rather than the wings. Sculpted tunnels in the floor accelerate the air passing beneath the car, lowering its pressure and pulling the car down onto the road. The current generation of F1 cars leans heavily on this floor-driven downforce, which is less disturbed by a car ahead than wing downforce, and was reintroduced in 2022 partly to let cars follow each other more closely.
Related aero & the car terms
- DRS (Drag Reduction System) — A driver-operated flap in the rear wing that opens to cut drag and boost straight-line speed, allowed only when following closely in a DRS zone.
- Dirty air — The turbulent, low-energy wake shed by a car in front that robs the following car of downforce and grip.
- Porpoising — A rapid vertical bouncing of the car at speed, caused by ground-effect downforce repeatedly stalling and returning.
- The halo — The titanium hoop around the cockpit that protects the driver's head from debris and impacts.
- Degradation ("deg") — The gradual loss of tyre grip and lap time over a stint as the rubber wears and overheats.
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Definition written in plain language from the current F1 sporting rules and common usage, current as of 14 August 2026. Unofficial; not affiliated with Formula 1.