The Race F1 Podcast Tech Show: CFD pioneer Nick Wirth on solving real world problems with F1 knowledge
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Aug 14, 2025 
Gary Anderson, a former technical director in Formula 1, teams up with Nick Wirth, founder of Wirth Research and a pioneer in CFD technology. They delve into the innovative use of CFD beyond racing, tackling real-world issues like energy efficiency in trucks and supermarket designs. Wirth argues for the need to replace traditional wind tunnels in F1, while Anderson provides insights on the ongoing relevance of wind tunnel testing. Together, they explore how these technologies are shaping the future of motorsport and industry.
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Wind Tunnel And CFD Complement Each Other
- Gary Anderson sees CFD and wind tunnel as complementary, each better for particular problems like closed ducts or internal flows.
- He stresses final validation is the stopwatch on track; both tools must be used sensibly.
Regulate Tools Equally If You Ban Wind Tunnels
- If banning wind tunnels, mandate equal tools for all teams to avoid unfair advantage.
- Limitations must be regulated for CFD resources too, otherwise unequal compute budgets will skew competition.
How Wirth Research Pivoted From F1
- Nick Wirth described Worth Research's pivot from motorsport to commercial vehicle aero kits and supermarket HVAC work.
- Their truck kit paid back in ~2.5 years and supermarket retrofit work kept the company alive through COVID.