The ultimate goal of any motorsports team is winning races. But there isn’t much point to winning if it cannot be done safely. With that in mind, motorsports organizations rely heavily on advanced composites to build cars that are both safe and fast. Formula One (F1) provides a perfect example. They are among the best in the business.
F1 has fully embraced advanced composites for both safety and speed. Teams are particularly interested in carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) due to the crucial role they play in enhancing driver safety. If you have ever seen a serious wreck in an F1 race, you know just how important safety is.
So how do advanced composites contribute to motorsports safety? Below are a few things to consider. As you read, know that we are committed to improving motorsports’ safety through newer and better products. In fact, Aerodine Composites’ own Craig McCarthy was part of a team of engineers who won the Louis Schwitzer Award for the work on the innovative Aeroscreen that INDYCAR that implemented in 2020.
In recent years, F1 has played an integral role in developing and implementing carbon fiber composite crash structures that enclose a car on all sides. These crash structures have a unique ability to absorb energy during impact. Not only that, but they also dissipate force away from the cockpit by gradually crushing through impact and all the way to rest.
The most advanced crash structures are designed specifically to deform and fracture in a controlled way. These functions enhance energy absorption to reduce the deceleration forces that could otherwise injure a driver. As you would expect, F1 insists on the most effective carbon fiber components to build energy-absorbing crash structures.
Motorsport engineers rely on more than just advanced composite parts to protect drivers involved in crashes. They also expect the design features built into certain parts to play a crucial safety role. For example, an F1 car’s nose cone is engineered to deform in a specific way during frontal impact. In our industry, we call this improved crashworthiness.
It can take a tremendous amount of time to design car components that are both crashworthy and better at absorbing and dissipating energy. Engineers and design teams work long hours to make sure their designs are up to the task. When they succeed, a car’s crashworthiness goes way up.
What an F1 viewer might refer to as a cockpit is known in the industry as a monocoque or survival cell. The cockpit absolutely must be rigid. It must be tough enough to survive high speed impacts and tremendous deceleration forces. At the same time however, F1 teams expect a monocoque to be light.
One of the ways we manage to produce what F1 teams want is to combine advanced carbon fiber composite sandwich structures with honeycomb cores. The honeycomb core increases strength and energy absorption without adding significant weight. Drivers are also better protected from intrusion by the honeycomb core design.
A rigid and tough cockpit can do a lot to protect a driver during a crash, but its capabilities are still limited. Therefore, safety demands better driver protection systems. These include mandatory Halo (head and neck restraint) systems and cockpit surrounds. A Halo system is designed to prevent a driver’s head from snapping back and forth during a crash. As for cockpit surrounds, they deflect debris to further protect the driver’s head during a crash.
Advanced motorsport composites make for better driver protection systems. They keep drivers safer through improved energy absorption, better crash design, and more rigid cockpits.
If you are a fan of F1 racing, keep in mind what we do for driver safety with advanced motorsport composites. The composites industry is proud to play a role in making motorsports safer and more entertaining.
