Do F1 cars have to be painted?

[Sharky]

This may seem like a stupid question but I was wondering.......do those cars have to be painted. I mean..... regardless of how ligh paint is....it still has weight so a team could spare their cars some wight by leaving the car unpainted except for the sponsors.

For instance, the 98 arrows was completely black. Couldn't they just leave the car unpainted and just paint the names of the sponsors (zepter, danka, elf, etc.).....and teams like Mclaren could leave their black parts unpainted......besides, carbon fiber has a very nice look.

So....just wondering.

[OVERSTEER]

The answer is no, because the paint is not needed for protection because there are no metallic elements in the bodywork, it's just a carbon fibre matrix which is coated in epoxy resin so that the carbon fibre matrix is made rigid.

[Sharky]

But I mean more from the regulations point of view. If the FIA demands that all cars must be painted.

[enzo]

Yes.

[BMWRacerITS]

Its also possible that paint would improve the flow of air over the car, negating any weight increase it might cause.

[THR]

yea they have to have paint if they want to survive.
if you were a sponsor, you would want your stickers to stand out against the rest.
the arrows worked well cos it was the only black car.

if they were all black no one would sponsor them.
paint doesnt weigh that much anyway!
however parts of the cars are left plain carbon such as the floor and wing undersides.
paint can be polished offering a performance gain.

anyway cars are beutiful objects, y not paint them!! us men like to tart them.

[bobdrummond]

You say paint doesn't weigh that much. Try telling Jag that. They claimed that the weight was preventing them from running the gorgeous colour scheme featured on the launch car. Strange, seeing as how McLaren must have the most elaborate paint job in F1!

[DAVID PATERSON]

Paint weighs plenty. Notice how passenger jets are always painted so they look nice, freighters usually aren't, enough paint to cover a jet weighs several TON!!!! Now if they're selling freight space at US$5/kg, several ton of extra payload per flight equals a ****load more revenue, that's why they're happy to live with daggy unpainted aluminium. Enough weight to cover a Formula 1 would represent a significant portion of the car's total weight.

[enzo]

The paint it would take to cover an F1 car would weigh between 4-7 pounds, depending on pigment & use of clear coat. Weight could go up a bit if pearlecent paints are used.

[THR]

one thing about paint...

did u know that stewart F1 who were white.
werent actually white?
they were a slightly off white that looked better on tv to show up the sponsors better!

the things they go to!

[ma]

You'll find that almost all automotive whites are dulled down from pure white, otherwise they are way too bright for most peoples tastes, never mind blinding to look at in the sun !

[chunder]

Research into paint and its effect on aerodynamics ahs been going on for years. I know that only the very thinnest layer of paint is applied and that the sponsor logos are made using the very latest sticker technology!
One interesting point on this sort of thing is that the Yamaha World Superbike team riders Russell and Edwards used a special coating over the bike paint and their leathers that was allegedly more slippery than the basic paint surface.