Written by Ollie Lewis, Edited by Jann Erin Castro
Over the last few decades, carbon fibre and motorsport have become synonymous with one another. Its development and use have proven to be crucial in the way that the cars are engineered today, balancing both safety and speed.
Carbon fibre, being up to five times stronger than steel and nearly half the density of aluminium, is favoured due to its sheer strength and lightweight.
Nowadays, a Formula One car is typically made of around 85% carbon fibre, from the monocoque chassis to the brake ducts and suspension.
Prior to the 1960s, these properties in a material were merely science fiction and it was only developed as an experimental material to aid with space travel.
Now, carbon fibre is used in many different applications apart from motorsport, varying from the complexity of aviation to the interesting game of golf.
There are some records of early experiments with carbon fibre in some aerodynamic and non-structural parts throughout the 1970s, but these were rarely used in competition and were generally just trials of the material.
Carbon fibre was first used in F1 during the 1981 United States Grand Prix West season opener held at Long Beach, California, where Lotus ran their carbon fibre monocoque Lotus 88 for the first time. While it was technically the first F1 car with a carbon fibre chassis, it never competed in a full Grand Prix.
McLaren were, in fact, the first team to enter a carbon fibre-based car in a race when the McLaren MP4/1 made its debut three rounds later at the Argentinian GP in the same year.
Throughout the season, many were sceptical about this intriguing new material and made no efforts to adopt it.
However, the blistering and consistent pace of the MP4/1 throughout the season — not to mention having won the British Grand Prix just six races after the debut of carbon fibre.
This was enough to convince many to research and implement the new material, despite safety concerns about the lightweight material.
Many queries about the safety of carbon fibre were quashed at the 1981 Italian Grand Prix when McLaren driver John Watson walked away unscathed from a horrific crash.
Watson lost control of his car exiting Turn 7 before shunting into the barrier with the rear of his car. The engine and rear axle broke free of the chassis, rupturing fuel lines and causing a vicious blaze.
Despite the massive damages, the carbon fibre chassis did not contort or break apart under the immense stresses. Unlike the strength of this new material, steel or aluminium would have resulted in a complete wreckage of the car.
From this crucial moment, carbon fibre would only grow more popular amongst the teams.
The importance of carbon fibre from a safety perspective has been stressed countless times since its introduction to motorsport.
Modern F1 cars feature monocoques, also known as ‘survival cells’, designed to withstand extremely powerful impacts and prevent debris from puncturing the cockpit. These are made from a weave consisting of carbon fibre and Kevlar and have prevented countless injuries.
One of the more defining accidents in F1 was Romain Grosjean’s death-defying crash in the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Grosjean speared into the wall at over 120 miles per hour, or 193 kilometers per hour, penetrating the barrier and ripping off the car’s rear.
Despite the heavy impact and subsequent blaze, Grosjean emerged from the wreckage 28 seconds after impact. He suffered injuries no worse than burnt hands and feet.
Grosjean’s survival is equally attributed to the car's survival cell and the titanium halo, both of which remain intact today and can be seen at the F1 Exhibition.
The harrowing image of the burnt chassis is a testament to both the incredible safety innovations made within the sport and the importance of advanced materials such as carbon fibre, titanium alloys and Kevlar.
From a competitive standpoint, carbon fibre is simply instrumental. However, there have been some concerns over its sustainability and impact on the environment.
Around 90% of carbon fibre worldwide is produced using a method based on Polyacrylonitrile, or PAN, which is derived from crude oil. The extraction and refinement process of crude oil is generally considered to be one of the leading causes of pollution and global warming.
This poses a challenge to F1’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2030, as the majority of all cars are made up of carbon fibre.
Carbon fibre has also been known to be incredibly difficult to recycle due to its woven nature and high strength resins.
The resins themselves require a lot of heat and energy to break down in order to re-mould the fibres. Once remoulded, the fibres lose their purity, thus reducing the quality of the material.
However, at the 2023 United States Grand Prix, McLaren used recycled carbon fibre from V-Carbon on their non-structural parts such as on the outer bodywork or on the wing mirrors.
The test proved to be successful and could pave the way for recycled carbon fibre to become more common in the future.
The recycling process of V-Carbon and similar companies can reduce emissions generated in the production of carbon fibre by up to 90%. This makes them crucial to helping F1 reach their carbon neutrality goal.
While oil-derived carbon fibre is by far the most popular, there are other sustainable methods being developed, such as Lignin-based carbon fibre.
Lignin is a natural resource found in the cell walls of plants and has a high carbon content of up to 70%. Lignin-based fibres could reduce the dependency of the sport on crude oil if the extraction of Lignin is further developed and made cheaper.
While carbon fibre wasn’t solely developed in motorsport, its impact on the motorsport industry over the last 40 years has been vital to the success of the material.
The contribution of motorsport to the research and development of advanced materials and technologies like carbon fibre cannot be understated.
The history of carbon fibre in F1 is one of the many developments simply showcasing the continuous pursuit for innovation and perfection that makes F1 the pinnacle of motorsport.
Коментарі