Environmental friendliness and aerodynamics are Formula 1 buzzwords. Air friction was already a topic for Stanley George Hooker. After studying at Oxford, Hooker increased the efficiency of the Merlin engine by 30 percent at Rolls-Royce, which was subsequently used in the British Air Force’s Spitfire fighter plane. The compression optimization achieved by Hooker was also used in the design of jet units. From 1940, he was chief engineer in the development of the first British jet engines. Hooker also devoted himself to the thrust nozzle at the British fighter manufacturer Folland.
Development costs for the RB.211 jet engine that had gotten out of hand brought Hooker out of retirement and back to Rolls-Royce in 1970. Within a very short time, the problems were rectified and the engine was able to go into production. For saving Rolls-Royce, the Briton was ennobled. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and an honorary member of the AIAA.