Downforce is the aerodynamic force pressing a vehicle toward the road, generated by wings, splitters, diffusers and body shape as air flows over and under the car. Because it adds normal force at the tires without adding mass, it increases grip without increasing the load transfer or inertia that mass would bring, which is why aerodynamic cars can corner at accelerations that mechanical grip alone cannot reach. It scales roughly with the square of speed, so it is negligible at low speed and dominant at high speed, and it always comes with a drag penalty that costs straight-line speed. Its front-to-rear distribution, the aerodynamic balance, shifts with ride height, rake and pitch attitude, which links aerodynamic performance directly to spring rates and to how well the suspension controls ride height under braking and acceleration.