F1 2023 Liveries - why not paint all cars just carbon ? Ugly

[scheibel]

Hi everyone,
it can't be just me.
For saving a few kilos in paint, all 2023 cars have larger unpainted carbon surfaces.
So ugly in most cases.

Please FIA, allow them the few kilos more to make our viewing experience much better.
You did ask them to change the exhaust sounds, when the 2014 cars were reminiscent in sound of 1950's vacuum cleaners.

In ranking order Livery 2022 made worse in 2023:

1 Look at the beautiful 2022 Blue on white Alpha Tauri - Hey we got colour tv since the 1960's so what is this almost blackblue and white 2023 nonsense? The 2022 Alpha Tauri was stylish. 2023 maybe a fashion failure.

2 Alfa Romeo Sauber 2022 was much different to the Ferrari 2022 and 2023 because of white on red. 2023 it looks like they wanted the Ferrari livery on their car but stopped half way.

3 McLaren 2022 more optimism in orange. Now Google is turning more and more evil, but hey, Mclaren,- you did not have to follow that in making your car less orange cheerful in black.

4 Haas 2022 (non-russian livery) was still not as black and white 1950's TV as the 2023.

5 Alpine aka Renault Pink and Blue was unique, some may have disliked it. Now 2023 added so much black it looks confused. The only French F1 car. Please make it Blue, White and Red like you did in 2018. (The French Flag.) sil vous plait.

6 Ferrari, prego (please), Rosso, Rosso, Rosso infinito! (Rosso = Red) adding black in my opinion is not Ferrari.
If I had a Ferrari dealership, you can have any Ferrari you like in any colour, - as long as it is Red! My favourite is MugelloRosso followed by Scarlet, Apple and ok...the classic Ferrari original red.

7 Red Bull and Aston Martin managed too look the same 2022 and 2023, discreetly adding the black carbon where it does not kill the looks as much.

8 The Williams F1 2023 car is a Duracell Battery almost on top of the Driver now. (Maybe the Energizer bunny will drive that car in the season. Look out for two big ears sticking out of the cockpit) Fun idea, but it clashes with all that blue. Please give us the Lavazza coffee of 2022 in that spot back. It may have been the reason 2022 Drivers were faster.

So positive news.
Mercedes has done this the right way.
(I drive a McLaren 1998+, Ferrari 1970's and BMW Sauber 2006 in my sims. so no bias.)

Rather then messing around at corners and edges with a bit of black, like many other teams, they made the black look stylish! ...., just adding a jade colour stripe on edges and some bold, in your face, yellow numbers.
So I really liked their "silver arrows" 2022 livery and I am happy that instead of non-fitting black spots all over in the wrong places, as in the 2023 Ferrari, they ditched their 2022 livery and came up with something new.

In conclusion
when many of us, specially spectators who do not drive sims, watch Formula 1 races, what do they see now? I believe too much unpainted carbon on cars in the wrong spots. (Except Mercedes.)

Ok so when I sit in my sim, I barely or not at all look at the colours of cars.
If I did, I'd finish last.
However, watching a reply or real Races on TV the paintwork matters.
Make the sport more attractive is not helped by all that carbon without paint.

Cheers everyone
scheibel (spoken shaiibell(swiss) syaiberu(japanese) cheebel(english) or anything you like

 

[jgf]

The cars are so festooned with sponsor logos little of any finish is visible anyway (at least they're better than the rolling circus posters of NASCARE). But I agree, bare carbon fiber is ugly; if the weight of paint is actually that much concern, perhaps they could bond mylar over the carbon.

For an interesting sim race (works best with F1 or "Indycar") repaint all the cars one solid color, any color, no decals, numbers, or anything else. You've no idea who's who on the track, it's odd how that affects your race.

 

[Ruttman98]

I agree--too much black on most of the entries and poorly executed at that.

Color-tnted carbon fiber is another option to get some color on the cars without adding weight.

 

[jgf]

You notice carbon fiber is always black, the natural color of carbon.
Coloring it has three problems,
-a pigment bright enough and opaque enough to do the job
-a pigment that will not react with the carbon fiber and affect its strength
-a pigment that will withstand the high temperatures of the manufacturing process (the fiber is carbonized at 1500deg C)

 

[Antony Snook]

The reason is Carbon looks weired on obscure angles. And its Black whitch i think looks spooky as it blends with tires and suspension. Good for hiding inovations in aerodynamics's but bad on TV.

 

[Ruttman98]

By tinting carbon fiber (CF) to add color, I was referring primarily to the resin--not the matrix. An entire McLaren road car was an exposed CF take on British Racing Green:

2019 McLaren Senna | S113 | Kissimmee 2020 | Mecum Auctions

2019 McLaren Senna presented as Lot S113 at Kissimmee, FL

www.mecum.com

I am not a huge fan of the Senna's aesthetics, but the exposed CF is what makes this particular example appeal to me, and it would be cool to see this finish find its way to track completion.

I have seen CF engine intake parts that were almost olive green but they were rough with minimal shine--presumably because a clear/gelcoat had not yet been applied.

Additionally, I wonder about the technological feasibility of replacing CF with synthetic fibers such as those used in modern braided fishing lines--all of which are available in a rainbow of colors.

It is cetainly possible to add color to CF parts but whether there would be a significant weight or other penalty I am unsure.

I expect this kind of technical innovation and fresh design thinking at the top levels of open wheel and sportscar racing, but see overly strict formulas and cost as hindrances.

 

[Neilski]

Please FIA, allow them the few kilos more to make our viewing experience much better.

They are much too heavy already. And if you let them have a few kilos more, no way they'd use that for paint

 

[jgf]

Lol, some drivers of the past would be a weight penalty themselves. I wonder if Fangio could even fit in a modern F1 car.

 

[Hoksu]

Imo the unpainted carbon fiber cars are pretty ugly, not a great season visually. Hopefully for next season there will be a rule that cars must be painted

 

[4 8 15 16 23 42 108]

Yes, colors must be stipulated massively.

 

[Ruttman98]

But . . .

With the entry of FoMoCo into F1 in 2020-whatever, I can hear the ghost of Henry saying, "Any color as long as it's black."*

*I am referring of course to a famous "quote"** regarding the Ford Model T. The car which put the world on powered wheels was originally offered in colors, but With production expediency vital to making "the car for the great multitude" affordable and efficient, black was chosen for its fast drying characteristics AND ALSO for being the cheapest paint available.

**Black was the only color offered from 1914-1926, but in his 1922 autobiography My Life and Work, Ford claimed that he uttered the quote five years before in 1909, but that was precisely when the first Model Ts were offered in gray, red, and green plus a handful of black cars. Dark green was the only color on offer in 1910, while blue with black fenders was the sole color choice in 1911-12, with 1913 being a cross-over year with blue yielding to black for most of production.

My livery choice for the Ford F1 entry: red, driven by a modern day Barney Oldfield (perhaps Colton Herta), emblazoned "999," and--as a nod to the Model T--black peripheral furniture approximating "fenders."

 

[jgf]

The cars look ... like cars. ...

debatable

With many recent F1 cars I expect one to stand up on its rear wheels, become a robot, and walk away. (Transformers! robots in disguise!)

 

[Pengui]

I liked McLaren's livery in 2021. Well proportioned complementary colours. I agree that this years car is not pretty. Shame about the evil Google crap as well. But, that's sponsorship.

 

[Antony Snook]

The cars are so festooned with sponsor logos little of any finish is visible anyway (at least they're better than the rolling circus posters of NASCARE). But I agree, bare carbon fiber is ugly; if the weight of paint is actually that much concern, perhaps they could bond mylar over the carbon.

For an interesting sim race (works best with F1 or "Indycar") repaint all the cars one solid color, any color, no decals, numbers, or anything else. You've no idea who's who on the track, it's odd how that affects your race.

Carbon fiber reflects a lot because it is shinny and teams use it for floor and lower parts to hide airo secrets for the floor.
Just look at Williams not one major sponsor. Just a sponsor for Duracell batteries on the air intake. I wonder how the team survive financially without a big corporation on side pod or rear cowling.

 

[Pete Conway]

Maybe the FIA could encourage the teams to fully paint their cars by giving track limits passes, to teams
1 free track limit pass per race for every 10 percent of colour* painted visible carbon, I stipulate colour as I'm sure that some teams would claim lacquer as a paint were it found to be a lighter weight.

* yeah, I'm English (In-glich)