Rear Wing

A rear wing is an aerodynamic component mounted at the back of a race car that creates downward force to push the vehicle onto the track, improving grip and cornering speed.

Think of a rear wing as an upside-down airplane wing. While an airplane wing lifts the plane into the air, a rear wing on a race car does the opposite—it pushes the car down onto the track. This downward force is called downforce, and it's one of the most important concepts in modern motorsport.

The rear wing works by managing how air flows over and under it. As the car moves forward, air travels across the wing's surfaces at different speeds, creating high pressure above the wing and low pressure below it. This pressure difference generates a powerful downward push on the rear of the car, much like an invisible hand pressing the vehicle into the pavement.

You'll find rear wings on race cars in nearly every major motorsport series, from Formula 1 to IndyCar to sports car racing. Each series has different rules about wing size and design, but the basic principle remains the same. The wing helps the car stick to the track, especially when going through fast corners where the car might otherwise slide or lose control.

Most rear wings are adjustable, meaning teams can change the angle of the wing to suit different tracks and conditions. A steeper angle creates more downforce, which helps in twisty sections with lots of corners. A shallower angle produces less downforce but also less drag, making the car faster on long straightaways. Engineers spend countless hours finding the perfect balance for each race.

Rear wings can be simple or complex. A basic single-element wing uses just one airfoil surface, while multi-element wings stack several surfaces together to generate even more downforce. Some wings also feature small additions like a Gurney flap—a tiny vertical tab at the wing's trailing edge that squeezes out extra downforce.

The trade-off with rear wings is drag. While downforce helps the car corner faster, it also acts like a brake on the straights, slowing the car down. This is why you might see teams running smaller wings at tracks like Monza or Indianapolis, where top speed matters more than cornering grip. At twisty circuits like Monaco, teams max out the wing size to prioritize cornering performance.

The benefits of a well-designed rear wing are dramatic. With proper downforce, drivers can take corners at speeds that would be impossible otherwise. The car feels more stable and predictable, giving drivers the confidence to push harder. Lap times drop significantly, and the difference between a good wing setup and a poor one can mean the difference between winning and losing.