Why Do F1 Cars Have A Jagged Windshield?

If you've ever stared at a modern Formula 1 (F1) car, you've probably noticed a small translucent 'windshield,' usually with a row of tiny, jagged teeth. It almost looks like a construction paper project your kid took pinking shears to — albeit on a multimillion-dollar carbon fiber missile. 

You'd probably assume it's there to keep the wind from violently rattling the driver's head around, which is a sensible explanation. However, it's not quite the whole story — and worth pointing out that not all teams use these, and that they can vary between races. This can largely be due to the concept the team designed their car around, as diverse aspects from aerodynamics to cooling can determine the necessity and effectiveness of such parts.  

Yes, those jagged edges do help with driver comfort, but that's just the beginning. In the aerodynamically-obsessed world of F1, where teams spend millions of dollars on a wind tunnel, that little strip of jagged plastic is an active and critical soldier in a much larger war being waged over airflow. Its real job isn't just to protect the driver from a stiff breeze, but to intentionally create what can only be described as organized chaos to make the entire car faster. Think of it less as a shield and more as an aerodynamic prep cook, chopping up the airflow for the critical components downstream.

To understand the dragon's teeth, you first have to appreciate that on an F1 car, air is both an enemy and an ally. A simpler straight-edge windscreen would just shove the air up and over the cockpit, creating a pocket of turbulent air right behind it. Although this would get the job done, this leaves some of that valuable airflow focused into only one spot just above and behind the driver's head. Similarly to when F1 introduced the Halo design, any change to exterior of the car comes with aerodynamic implications. 

This is where the jagged edges come in. Instead of one big, useless vortex, the serrations are engineered to trip-up the airflow, shredding it into a series of smaller, more energetic, and more predictable vortices. A computational fluid dynamics study shared by Theoretical and Natural Science confirmed this, noting the zigzag edge is superior because it creates turbulence that allows air to flow more smoothly to the aerodynamic components at the back of the car. More quality air to the engine means more power, and better flow to the rear wing means more downforce. 

In a world of brilliant engineers, that math is impressively straightforward.

The jagged windscreen isn't just a clever invention, it's a direct consequence of a fundamental choice Formula 1 made about safety. Just have a look at the big, beefy flip-flop sandal sitting on top of the car – the Halo. 

Introduced in the 2018 season, the Halo is a titanium ring that has proven to be a beneficial safety device. However, for the men and women who design these cars, it can be an aerodynamic nightmare. Red Bull even tested an Aeroscreen on F1 cars as rumors of the Halo design started to swirl, a similar design to what has now been licensed to IndyCar by Red Bull Advanced Technologies. 

This solution is unique to F1 because of the path it chose. IndyCar, facing similar safety questions, went with the Aeroscreen — a full-on canopy that integrates a Halo-like frame with a polycarbonate windshield. F1 rejected this screen concept, choosing the Halo design. That decision preserved the open-cockpit feel of the sport but created the specific airflow problems, one of which a small, jagged, plastic windscreen helps to solve. 

It's a perfect example of the marginal gains philosophy that rules F1 — a small, lightweight, and highly specialized solution to a problem of its own making, all in the relentless pursuit of speed. It is, in every sense, a classic piece of F1 engineering.