La FIA has made a new request, more recognizable liveries on the track. This could happen as early as 2025, thus significantly differentiating the current liveries. Let's look at the reasons together.
FiA request: too much black on the liveries
The FiA's request to differentiate the liveries between them is a little perplexing at first. The request, however, seems to arise from the need to recognize - especially in night races - the liveries of the teams that have similar colours. Let's think, therefore, of the range of blue and light blue present on the track between Williams, Red Bull, Visa Cash App Rb and Alpine. The same confusion happened for Mercedes and Aston Martin.
The similarity between the cars is also due, and above all, to the choice to use little paint to save weight, thus leaving the carbon black very visible.
What you read above Motorsport.com, negotiations between the Federation and the Formula 1 teams are being discussed in order to ensure more diversity on the grid.
What does Nikola Tombazis, FiA single-seater manager, say?
However, if on the one hand FIA e FOM they ask this to also facilitate the fans of the category, on the other hand they do not feel obliged to oblige this request to the 10 teams. So, in light of this, it seems that the issue needs to be addressed delicately, because it would bring about an important change, almost forcing them to have to add "weight" to the car.
The person in charge of the negotiation, Nicholas Tombazis, stated that this proposal has been put on the list for debate at the next meeting of the F1 Commission, hoping that a solution will be reached that is in everyone's favor.
«As always in F1, the issue is more complex than it might seem» Tombazis himself declared to Motorsport.com, before continuing «one problem is that the cars have a little too much naked carbon, because obviously the paint has a weight, so the cars have a little too much black.»
«All the teams worked hard to change the type of paint, which nowadays consists of very thin films, to keep the weight as low as possible. Another problem is that some teams seem to use similar color schemes, so they end up with cars that are visually very similar to each other. We are still discussing it with the teams and it will be discussed in the next F1 Commission."
According to Nikolas, the best solution it is a collaboration between the teams rather than a forcing by the Federation, which would go against the ethics of the sport.
Not just liveries, the FIA also has demands on helmets
Il problem, therefore, it is not only because the liveries have an increasingly similar appearance to each other but the fact that it is increasingly difficult to distinguish the same drivers inside the cars through the helmet. Between the refined design and the halo on the car, the drivers' view is reduced to a colored band (black or yellow) present on the on-board camera.
As we read above Motorsport.com,article 9.1 c states precisely in this sense «The on-board cameras located above the main roller structure of the first car must remain as they are supplied to the competitor and the second car must be predominantly fluorescent yellow in color.»
However, the desire on the part of the FIA remains to help the recognition of the drivers as they speed through curves and straights, to fans of the category as, in the past, it was easier. The helmet had the simplest design and remained so throughout the season.
How the issue will evolve is not yet certain, but what is certain is that we do not want to oblige the teams and drivers in this sense as well. «We don't want to go into detail. But we want to get to a point where somehow the teams consider it a common good that the cars are recognisable. "
