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For open wheel race cars the front wheel flow and the interaction of its wake with downstream components is of significant importance. Considerable effort goes into the design of front wing end plates, barge boards and underfloor components in order to manage the front wheel flow. In this study a 50% scale Formula One front wheel assembly has been tested in the Durham University 2m₂ open jet wind tunnel to evaluate the effect of through-hub flow on its cooling drag and flow structures. Varying the amount of through-hub flow gave rise to a negative cooling drag trend whereby increasing the flow through the hub resulted in a decrease in drag. This observation has been explained both qualitatively and quantitatively by inlet spillage drag. Lower than optimum airflows through the brake scoop result in undesirable separation at the inside edge and hence, an increase in drag (reversing the cooling drag trend).