The Clever Engineering Behind F1's F-Duct
McLaren’s 2010 F-duct found a way to stall the rear wing on the straights without moving aero parts, turning the driver into part of the airflow system.
Article Archive
Automotive and Formula 1 stories
Explore automotive history, engineering, development and motorsport stories from Ottocrank.
The Strange Story of the Chrysler TC by Maserati
Lee Iacocca wanted Italian prestige for Chrysler, Maserati needed cash, and the result was a costly two-seat roadster that arrived three years too late.
When Ferrari Almost Went IndyCar Racing
Enzo Ferrari’s fury over F1 engine rules became more than political theatre: Maranello built the Ferrari 637, a real CART-style IndyCar that never raced.
How Bob Lutz Changed BMW, Ford, Chrysler and GM
From BMW Motorsport and the Ford Sierra to the Dodge Viper and Chevrolet Volt, Bob Lutz kept pushing car companies to trust great products over committee thinking.
The Day Williams and McLaren Were Accused of Race Fixing
After the 1997 European GP at Jerez, Ferrari accused Williams and McLaren of manipulating the result. The FIA saw it differently.
The Clever Front Torque Transfer that F1 Banned
BAR-Honda’s 2004 Front Torque Transfer system linked the front wheels under braking, promising lap-time gains before F1’s politics and rulebook closed in.
Volvo Chose the Design, Then Buried the Designer
The Volvo P1800 may wear Italian tailoring, but its shape came from a young Swedish designer whose role Volvo tried to keep hidden.
Brilliant but Combustible: Montoya's Raw Talent
Juan Pablo Montoya had the charisma, pace, and nerve to become a world champion, but his F1 story was always more complicated than pure speed.
Johnny Herbert, Schumacher, and the Benetton Telemetry Story
A resurfaced F1 Racing Q&A revisits Johnny Herbert's claim about telemetry access inside Benetton during the 1995 season.
Beneath the Brutalist Skin of the Alfa Romeo SZ
The Alfa Romeo SZ looked brutal on the surface, but its steel shell and composite bodywork made it more advanced than the styling suggested.
How the Third-Gen Camaro Became a Clean-Sheet 1980s Benchmark
GM briefly considered taking the Camaro and Firebird front-wheel drive, but the third-gen F-body ultimately kept its rear-drive character and became an 80s styling benchmark.
The Curious Case of Mugen-Honda F1
Mugen-Honda occupied one of Formula 1's strangest grey areas: not quite a works effort, not quite a customer engine, and far more effective than it looked on paper.
The Man Behind Porsche's Greatest Engines
Hans Mezger shaped Porsche's flat-six, the 917, turbocharged race engines, and the McLaren-TAG Formula 1 era.
How the Datsun 510 Became Japan's BMW 2002
Nissan saw what BMW was doing with the compact sports sedan and built the Datsun 510 into a simpler, cheaper, rear-drive answer with global appeal.
The Curious Case of the Q-System Gearbox
The Alfa Romeo 156 V6 could be ordered with one of the strangest automatic gear selectors of its era: a four-speed auto with a manual-style H-pattern mode.
The Ford Focus MK1 Control Blade Revolution
The first Ford Focus changed the compact car class by proving that clever chassis engineering could be felt by ordinary drivers every day.
The Evolution of Bargeboards
From the Lotus 97T to the complex aero forests of the late 2010s, bargeboards became one of F1’s most intensely developed airflow tools.
Renault EF-Type Engine and the Birth of the F1 Turbo Era
Renault's EF-type V6 took Formula 1 from scepticism to turbo domination, changing the sport's engineering direction for a generation.
The Second Life of the Lotus Elan
After the Lotus Elan M100 seemed finished, its tooling found a surprising second life with Kia in Korea.
Weight Optimisation in F1
Formula 1 weight rules are about safety, cost control, performance, ballast placement, and the endless engineering fight to put every gram where it matters.
The Genius of Toyota's Super Strut Suspension
Toyota tried to engineer around the compromises of MacPherson struts with a complex front suspension that chased double-wishbone behavior in a strut package.
The Engineering Behind the McLaren MP4-12
The MP4-12 marked McLaren's return path after a difficult stretch, pairing Mercedes power with brake-steer ingenuity and a new visual identity.
Alan Jones and the Art of the Uppercut
Patrick Head once described Alan Jones as exactly the kind of fighter Williams liked: combative in the car, and occasionally outside it too.
The Active Suspension Behind the Benetton B193
Benetton’s B193 used a lighter low-bandwidth active suspension system that blended gas springs, hydraulic actuators, sensors, and in-house control logic.
How the FW10 Put Williams Back on Track
The Williams FW10 brought carbon construction, Honda turbo power, and the first clear signs of a partnership about to dominate Formula 1.
Whatever Happened to F1's Favorite Exotic Metal?
A look at why aluminum-beryllium alloy became one of Formula 1's most promising late-1990s materials, and why it was quickly banned.
The Evolution of Heads Up Displays (HUD)
From military aircraft gunsights to augmented-reality windshields, heads-up displays moved from aviation hardware into everyday cars.
Inside the 2UR-GSE: Toyota’s V8 Masterpiece
Toyota and Yamaha turned the 2UR-GSE into a high-revving naturally aspirated V8 with dual injection, tuned acoustics, and serious motorsport credibility.
351 Windsor vs. Cleveland vs. Modified: A Ford V8 Breakdown
Ford built three very different 351 V8s, each with its own purpose, personality, and place in the brand's performance history.
F1 Posts
Formula 1 stories
Technical explainers, race history, team stories, and the engineering threads that shaped the sport.
The Clever Engineering Behind F1's F-Duct
McLaren’s 2010 F-duct found a way to stall the rear wing on the straights without moving aero parts, turning the driver into part of the airflow system.
When Ferrari Almost Went IndyCar Racing
Enzo Ferrari’s fury over F1 engine rules became more than political theatre: Maranello built the Ferrari 637, a real CART-style IndyCar that never raced.
The Day Williams and McLaren Were Accused of Race Fixing
After the 1997 European GP at Jerez, Ferrari accused Williams and McLaren of manipulating the result. The FIA saw it differently.
The Clever Front Torque Transfer that F1 Banned
BAR-Honda’s 2004 Front Torque Transfer system linked the front wheels under braking, promising lap-time gains before F1’s politics and rulebook closed in.
Brilliant but Combustible: Montoya's Raw Talent
Juan Pablo Montoya had the charisma, pace, and nerve to become a world champion, but his F1 story was always more complicated than pure speed.
Johnny Herbert, Schumacher, and the Benetton Telemetry Story
A resurfaced F1 Racing Q&A revisits Johnny Herbert's claim about telemetry access inside Benetton during the 1995 season.
The Curious Case of Mugen-Honda F1
Mugen-Honda occupied one of Formula 1's strangest grey areas: not quite a works effort, not quite a customer engine, and far more effective than it looked on paper.
The Evolution of Bargeboards
From the Lotus 97T to the complex aero forests of the late 2010s, bargeboards became one of F1’s most intensely developed airflow tools.
Renault EF-Type Engine and the Birth of the F1 Turbo Era
Renault's EF-type V6 took Formula 1 from scepticism to turbo domination, changing the sport's engineering direction for a generation.
Weight Optimisation in F1
Formula 1 weight rules are about safety, cost control, performance, ballast placement, and the endless engineering fight to put every gram where it matters.
The Engineering Behind the McLaren MP4-12
The MP4-12 marked McLaren's return path after a difficult stretch, pairing Mercedes power with brake-steer ingenuity and a new visual identity.
Alan Jones and the Art of the Uppercut
Patrick Head once described Alan Jones as exactly the kind of fighter Williams liked: combative in the car, and occasionally outside it too.
The Active Suspension Behind the Benetton B193
Benetton’s B193 used a lighter low-bandwidth active suspension system that blended gas springs, hydraulic actuators, sensors, and in-house control logic.
How the FW10 Put Williams Back on Track
The Williams FW10 brought carbon construction, Honda turbo power, and the first clear signs of a partnership about to dominate Formula 1.
Whatever Happened to F1's Favorite Exotic Metal?
A look at why aluminum-beryllium alloy became one of Formula 1's most promising late-1990s materials, and why it was quickly banned.
Car Posts
Road and performance car stories
Design stories, engineering notes, model spotlights, and the cars that became more than transport.
The Strange Story of the Chrysler TC by Maserati
Lee Iacocca wanted Italian prestige for Chrysler, Maserati needed cash, and the result was a costly two-seat roadster that arrived three years too late.
How Bob Lutz Changed BMW, Ford, Chrysler and GM
From BMW Motorsport and the Ford Sierra to the Dodge Viper and Chevrolet Volt, Bob Lutz kept pushing car companies to trust great products over committee thinking.
Volvo Chose the Design, Then Buried the Designer
The Volvo P1800 may wear Italian tailoring, but its shape came from a young Swedish designer whose role Volvo tried to keep hidden.
Beneath the Brutalist Skin of the Alfa Romeo SZ
The Alfa Romeo SZ looked brutal on the surface, but its steel shell and composite bodywork made it more advanced than the styling suggested.
How the Third-Gen Camaro Became a Clean-Sheet 1980s Benchmark
GM briefly considered taking the Camaro and Firebird front-wheel drive, but the third-gen F-body ultimately kept its rear-drive character and became an 80s styling benchmark.
The Man Behind Porsche's Greatest Engines
Hans Mezger shaped Porsche's flat-six, the 917, turbocharged race engines, and the McLaren-TAG Formula 1 era.
How the Datsun 510 Became Japan's BMW 2002
Nissan saw what BMW was doing with the compact sports sedan and built the Datsun 510 into a simpler, cheaper, rear-drive answer with global appeal.
The Curious Case of the Q-System Gearbox
The Alfa Romeo 156 V6 could be ordered with one of the strangest automatic gear selectors of its era: a four-speed auto with a manual-style H-pattern mode.
The Ford Focus MK1 Control Blade Revolution
The first Ford Focus changed the compact car class by proving that clever chassis engineering could be felt by ordinary drivers every day.
The Second Life of the Lotus Elan
After the Lotus Elan M100 seemed finished, its tooling found a surprising second life with Kia in Korea.
The Genius of Toyota's Super Strut Suspension
Toyota tried to engineer around the compromises of MacPherson struts with a complex front suspension that chased double-wishbone behavior in a strut package.
The Evolution of Heads Up Displays (HUD)
From military aircraft gunsights to augmented-reality windshields, heads-up displays moved from aviation hardware into everyday cars.
Inside the 2UR-GSE: Toyota’s V8 Masterpiece
Toyota and Yamaha turned the 2UR-GSE into a high-revving naturally aspirated V8 with dual injection, tuned acoustics, and serious motorsport credibility.
351 Windsor vs. Cleveland vs. Modified: A Ford V8 Breakdown
Ford built three very different 351 V8s, each with its own purpose, personality, and place in the brand's performance history.