Do stickers affect the performance of F1 cars?
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Stickers can have an impact on the performance of F1 cars
Formula 1 cars are covered in stickers and sponsor decals. This allows F1 teams to participate in this expensive sport. The sport attracts millions of fans to grandstands every year and hundreds of millions watch it on TV. As such these ‘billboard on wheels’ are the perfect place to advertise globally. This forms a perfect blend for the teams to get some lucrative income and for brands to get reach. However, this does bring in the question of car performance.
Formula 1 teams spend millions every year to gain that extra tenth of a second over their rivals. Thus putting on stickers on the car sounds counter-intuitive to the work done on aerodynamics. And this stands true, sponsor decals and logos hamper the airflow on F1 cars, creating a wake effect. Essentially, the branding forms a cliff obstructing the smooth flow of air over the car, which in turn hampers the overall downforce generated by the car.
Although, teams cannot remove decals from the cars as they play a major role in their budget. Thus, even though surfaces such as the front or rear wing are decked with stickers despite being critical to airflow, they are often decked with stickers. Albeit, F1 teams do their best to minimize this collateral effect on the cars. A lot of effort is being put in to minimize the thickness of the decals. In many instances, the carbon fiber of the bodywork is unpainted to save weight and reduce performance deficit.
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How F1 teams reduce this effect of stickers and paint
Formula 1 is all about being fast on the grid. As such, over the years, teams have come up with solutions to deal with this problem. Nowadays, teams apply the thinnest of stickers on the cars, which only protrude minutely against the paint. With the constructors even going as far as applying the decals right on the base coat of paint on the car. This reduces to the wake effect of the sponsorship logos to an extensive effect. McLaren has also tested out a digital advertising solution.
That is not all, teams also invest in finding lighter paint for the car. For example, Red Bull and Scuderia Ferrari shifted to matte paint finishes in 2016 and 2019 respectively. As this allowed the two heavyweights to save a few hundred grams. Even in 2022, we witnessed McLaren and Williams leaving out some bits of the car unpainted to save some grams. It must be noted that all bodywork and stickers of F1 cars are thoroughly polished before every session. This ensures that no dust particles hamper the airflow.
As we can see, in Formula 1, every detail matters on an almost microscopic level. The whole grid indulges in ways to lessen this effect of stickers on the car’s aerodynamics. This seems to be the only solution. Sponsors not only provide funds to teams but also play a role in forming their identity. After all, what is F1 without iconic liveries like the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes or the Marlboro logos on Scuderia Ferrari. Even today, teams like Mercedes and Red Bull have made their car designs ‘modern classics,’ despite managing tons of stickers on their cars.
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Armaan Agarwal
(2367 Articles Published)