Rake

Rake is the angle created when a race car's front and rear sit at different heights from the ground, with the rear typically positioned higher than the front to create a nose-down attitude.

Think of rake like a wedge shape. When you look at a race car from the side, it often appears tilted forward slightly, with the nose closer to the track surface than the tail. This intentional height difference is called rake, and it's measured in degrees or millimeters. Most racing teams use what's called "positive rake," where the rear sits higher, though the opposite setup (negative rake) exists but is rarely seen in competitive racing.

The reason teams care so much about rake is because it dramatically affects how air moves around and underneath the car. When the car has a nose-down attitude, air rushing under the floor speeds up as it travels from front to back. This creates a vacuum effect similar to how a venturi tube works, sucking the car down onto the track and generating what engineers call downforce. More downforce means the tires grip better, allowing drivers to take corners faster without sliding off the track.

Rake also changes how the car handles in different situations. During hard braking, the car's weight shifts forward, pushing the nose down and temporarily increasing the rake angle. This gives the driver more front-end grip right when they need it most. During acceleration, the opposite happens—the rear squats down, reducing rake and helping the rear tires maintain traction as power transfers to the ground.

Formula 1 teams have become masters at using rake to their advantage. Red Bull Racing famously developed high-rake setups that created extremely efficient airflow through the rear diffuser, the upward-sloping section under the back of the car. This approach helped them dominate multiple championship seasons. Other teams like Ferrari and Force India studied and copied elements of this philosophy, running their cars with pronounced nose-down attitudes to maximize downforce from both the front wing and the floor.

However, rake isn't just about generating maximum downforce. Engineers must balance several competing factors. While more rake can increase grip in corners, it can also create more drag on straightaways, reducing top speed. Too much rake might make the car twitchy and prone to oversteer, where the rear end wants to swing around. Too little rake can cause understeer, where the car doesn't want to turn into corners sharply enough.

The beauty of rake as a setup tool is that small adjustments—sometimes just a few millimeters—can transform how a car behaves on track. Teams spend countless hours in wind tunnels and computer simulations finding the optimal rake angle for each circuit, considering factors like corner types, straight lengths, and expected weather conditions. What works perfectly at one track might be completely wrong at another, making rake adjustment a crucial part of race weekend preparation.