2018 Indy Car Minus Airbox

The Game Room
1

Hope someone can answer this question. I’m a long time auto racing fan…however, I am just now learning the intricacies of the cars themselves. Hence my question:

The 2018 version of the IndyCar has a new look. Thankfully they have removed the rear bumpers, and also they have ditched the airbox, which was placed just above and behind the driver.

What was the airbox for? I think(?) it had something to do with the engine’s aspiration, but I can’t go any further than that. F1 still has them, but now IndyCar has removed them.

I also think the function of the old airbox has been moved to ducts on the sides of the cars, but am not certain.

If anyone can provide some detail, I would be grateful. I thank you in advance.

2

I’d guess the airbox helped with some kind of ram-air intake, but aren’t Indy Cars turbocharged? They wouldn’t help much in that case…

From 10 minutes of google-fu, it seems they weren’t as effective as they would look to be, so they were removed to give the car a sleeker and lower profile.