Formula 1 goes black: “An unpainted car is faster”

Mercedes is ‘Back in Black’ because they own their car present a month ago. A year ago, Lewis Hamilton was still driving a gray car, this year again a black car.

Alfa Romeo and McLaren cars are also much blacker than in previous years.

According to F1 expert Allard Kalff, it’s no surprise that the cars are black. “The cars are black because they are not painted,” he told Editie NL. “Teams do this to keep the cars as light as possible. The paint gives extra weight to a car and that is not conducive to the speed of the car.”

Even if it’s not a lot, a coat of paint still saves weight. Kalff has noticed that F1 teams have been blacking out their cars for quite some time now. “Yet it now seems more popular than ever. It doesn’t save tens of pounds, but every little bit counts.”

According to the FIA, a racing car must weigh at least 798 kilos. Manufacturers do everything to get as close as possible.

Lighter

According to William Kolen, paint consultant at Van Es Paint in Tilburg, the choice of color can certainly influence the weight of the car. “The raw materials for black are lighter than the raw materials for white paint,” he explains to Editie NL. “For example, a liter of white paint weighs between 1400 and 1600 grams. A liter of black paint only weighs between 920 and 980 grams.”

Although he thinks F1 teams don’t use a lot of black paint. “The black you see is usually not paint, but the color of carbon. Although the Mercedes has been painted, you can see it.”

According to him, the blue colors that Max Verstappen drives and green are also lighter than white. “Orange and yellow are just as heavy as the color white.” Nevertheless, white is often used for passenger cars and all DHL vehicles and ambulances are yellow. “Yellow stands out and that’s why people often want their cars to be yellow.”

But not only the color of the car affects the weight. Modern cars are full of tech gadgets that weigh them down, says tech vlogger Master Milo. “Think of the safety and luxury that modern cars offer. They often have thick padding and extended airbags.”

The technology also provides additional weight. “Electric cars are heavier than petrol cars because the batteries in these cars are whole. A hybrid car is the heaviest because it has a petrol engine and a battery.” And the heavier a car is, the more it consumes. “So the normal driver also benefits from a light car.”