Liveries increasingly black, Formula 1 teams abandon color: but is there a reason behind this trend, or is it simply a fashion? The answer is actually straightforward and hides behind what, to our eyes, appears as “black”: it is, in fact, naked carbon, not covered by paint. A stratagem that allows teams to save precious kilograms.
Black began to invade the grid in 2022. The cars born from the new technical regulations, reintroducing the ground effect, turn out to be much heavier than past generations. Without considering the added weight of the driver, 80kg, the minimum teams can aspire to is 718kg. Every single kilogram over this minimum means losing time per lap.
According to estimates, about 35 thousandths of a second are lost for every kilo over 718kg mentioned earlier. With the development limitations imposed by the FIA and the budget cap, trying to trim excess weight is not an easy challenge. A victim of these dynamics was at risk of being Red Bull, which, in 2022, struggled in the first part of the season precisely due to the excessive weight of its car.
Painting the entire surface of the cars costs, on average, a significant 6 kilograms. For an engineer, whose sole purpose is to design a winning machine, it represents the easiest excess to get rid of. A strategy, at times, taken to its extremes, as was the case with the Mercedes livery on the W14.
Some teams, like McLaren, are exploring the use of vinyl to color their liveries. Lighter than traditional paint, it also offers an additional benefit: being effectively a simple coating, it is easy to remove to apply a new one, perhaps dedicated to a special livery.
Source: f1ingenerale
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