For F1 vehicles this season, black is the brand new black

In a sport the place each millisecond issues, Formula 1 groups do the whole lot they will to search out a bonus on the monitor.

Sometimes that comes all the way down to a matter of milligrams.

With pre-season testing across the nook, all ten F1 groups have now unveiled their search for the 2023 season. One of the largest themes to emerge from this yr’s slate of unveilings? The presence of black in every paint scheme. Or, extra precisely, naked carbon fiber.

The cause? It all comes all the way down to weight.

Take Mercedes, for instance. When they shared their 2023 challenger with the world, the W14 E Performance, Team Principal Toto Wolff outlined how final yr’s mannequin struggled with weight, and working with out paint in sure areas — as a substitute utilizing the black naked carbon fiber — gave the staff the flexibility to cut back weight. In a press launch shared with the media, together with SB Nation, Wolff mentioned the naked carbon fiber at size:

We have gone with a black livery for the W14 within the title of efficiency. We have explored each alternative to save lots of weight, and that is true with the livery. It harks again to the origin of the Silver Arrows; again then, Mercedes had a white automotive that was too heavy, in order that they eliminated the paint and ran to victory with the silver aluminum displaying. We have taken an identical strategy. We have been obese final yr. This yr we’ve got tried to determine the place we are able to squeeze out each single gram of weight so now historical past repeats itself. You will see that the automotive has some uncooked carbon bits, together with some which might be painted matte black. Of course, after we modified the livery in 2020 the primary driving issue was to assist the variety and equality causes that are at all times near our coronary heart. The color black turned a part of our DNA at that time, so we’re happy to return to it.

Under F1 rules vehicles are required to weigh 798kg (1,759 lbs), together with the motive force, with an empty gas tank. Teams, akin to Mercedes, struggled to get in compliance with that weight restriction final season and labored across the clock to search out methods to shave off just a few grams right here and there.

One manner? Running with out paint in sure areas, as a substitute with simply the black naked carbon fiber uncovered. And as groups struggled throughout 2022 to get the burden of their race vehicles down, naked carbon fiber was the reply.

Last March Aston Martin Chief Technical Officer Andy Green instructed Motorsport that eradicating paint and displaying the naked carbon fiber saved round 350 grams. “Weight is a big, big issue,” he explained. “These cars are heavy by regulation, and to get down to the regulation weight, it’s a challenge. We went through the whole car from front to back, and we took paint off wherever we could. I think in total we saved about 350 grammes.”

Other groups, akin to Williams and McLaren, adopted swimsuit. Williams went so far as to take into account stripping paint from your complete automotive:

This shouldn’t be the primary time in current F1 historical past that groups have tweaked their paint schemes to cut back weight. Ferrari and Red Bull each lately switched from a shiny end to a lighter matte end.

When you take into account {that a} full paint scheme can weigh as a lot as 6kg, discovering methods to cut back that quantity can imply a giant discount in weight, and maybe extra velocity on the monitor:

After all, for those who can shave off some grams right here and there by working with out paint, that leaves extra room for the actually essential elements that lie beneath.

And now, with all ten groups having shared their imaginative and prescient for 2023, one factor is for certain.

There will probably be plenty of black on the monitor.

From Haas:

To McLaren:

To Alfa Romeo:

And sure, Mercedes:

It definitely looks like this season, black is certainly the brand new black in F1.