At Monza, Ferrari celebrates carbon fiber

During the Italian Grand Prix weekend at Monza, Scuderia Ferrari HP, along with some of its partners, will celebrate a material that is state of the art when it comes to building racing cars, namely carbon fibre.

Its main virtues are light weight and strength, which have allowed the sport to make great progress in terms of safety. To mark the occasion, instead of the usual white background with a yellow border, the numbers 16 and 55 on the SF-24s will replicate the look of carbon with its woven texture and natural reflections. In addition, the drivers’ race suits, helmets, shoes and glasses will also reflect the carbon fibre theme.

Early days. Carbon fibre was produced for the first time in 1958 in the USA and then extensively developed in the UK and Japan. It first saw the light of day in Formula 1 thanks to a brainwave from John Barnard, in England. In 1982, Scuderia Ferrari began using carbon fibre panels to strengthen the aluminium chassis on the 126 C2, as well as producing the wings with this new material. Midway through the following season the 126 C3 made its debut, the first car built at Maranello with a carbon fibre monocoque. It made its debut with Patrick Tambay at Silverstone, when the Frenchman finished third, before winning next time out in Germany in the hands of René Arnoux.

Progress. As the understanding of carbon fibre gradually increased, partly thanks to increasingly powerful calculation tools, the use of this material in Formula 1 grew exponentially. The carbon parts got ever lighter as its manufacturing techniques were refined, so that it gradually replaced fibreglass for the bodywork, as well as being used for brake discs, the front, side and rear crash protection structures, the engine air intake and some engine parts. Even some suspension arms, made from metal up to 1994, gradually moved over to carbon fibre production. Today, the same even goes for the steering column and the driver’s seat, the latter due to the flexibility of the material, being moulded around the driver’s shape.

New millennium. From the start of the new millennium, carbon fibre became even more ubiquitous, with increasing number of components made from it because of its adaptability, particularly valuable from a safety point of view. Since 2001, the steering and suspension arms are made from carbon, as are the brake and accelerator pedals, which are actually modelled to the shape of the driver’s shoes. Since 2003, the gearbox casing, generally made in aluminium, switched to a titanium-carbon hybrid and then totally carbon as from 2014. Carbon fibre revolutionised the aerodynamic possibilities and the modern car features all sorts of wings and other aero elements that create downforce and useful vortices to help keep the car pinned to the ground in the search for more speed, even if some are hard to spot with the naked eye.

From track to road. As is usually the case with new technologies, carbon fibre was first used in racing cars, although its use was certainly not limited to motorsport. Its strength and lightness meant it found its way from the race track to the road, where it is ever more commonly found on sports cars from the major automobile manufacturers, including Ferrari of course. The 1995 F50 was the first Ferrari with a chassis and bodywork made entirely from carbon fibre, after which it was used on all the marque’s supercars in perfect harmony with the Formula 1 cars, as they shared the same materials, structures and production processes. Now, even production sports cars make full use of this material, for interior components as well as for pure performance elements, for example, the rear wing of the SF90XX Stradale, one of the most high-performance Ferraris ever, capable of producing 315 kg of downforce at 250 km/h.

Accessories. Carbon fibre is extensively used on racing cars, but that’s not the end of the story as it has now found its way onto a variety of other items all used in Formula 1. In the early days of Formula 1, wearing a helmet was not even compulsory and it was not until the Fifties, that Bell, a current Scuderia Ferrari HP partner, introduced a helmet specifically for racing. The American firm was also the first to produce the “full face” helmet, the shape we still recognise today, with Dan Gurney, the American F1 racer the first to wear one in 1968. In 1991, Bell produced the first helmets made entirely with aramid and carbon fibre, including the AFX-1, as well as the first helmet to mee the FIA (International Automobile Federation) 8860 standard. In 2003, the FIA made the Head and Neck Support, commonly known as the HANS device, mandatory in Formula 1. It is a carbon fibre collar that attaches to the sides of the helmet which thus limits neck movement in the event of an impact in order to reduce injury to the head and spinal column. It is now mandatory in almost all forms of racing above karting and was invented by Dr.Bob Hubbard, first appearing in the American NASCAR and Indycar races.

Different colours. For the Italian Grand Prix, Charles and Carlos will use special versions of their Bell helmets. The carbon fibre, of which the helmets are manufactured, will be left bare in parts in among the red and the only other colour used will be the yellow already celebrated in past years in Monza, because of its history as a Ferrari and Scuderia colour. It is also the colour of the city of Modena, chosen by Enzo Ferrari as the background to the black Prancing Horse emblem, presented to him by the family of First World War ace fighter pilot Francesco Baracca. The drivers’ Puma race suits will also sport a carbon look, while their T-shirts, caps and Speedcat Pro trainers will feature black and yellow. Their sunglasses, produced by Ray-Ban for Scuderia Ferrari HP will also stick to the carbon theme, with a special edition of the famous Wayfarer model launched today, made entirely from carbon fibre with yellow highlights. Puma is also producing items for Scuderia Ferrari HP, which take their inspiration from the drivers’ clothing, while replicas of their Bell helmets have been manufactured especially to mark the occasion in 1:1 and mini 1:2 format, all available exclusively at the Ferrari.com e-store and Ferrari boutiques. The Milan flagship store will have a dedicated pop-up store on Via San Raffaele, from 27 August to 2 September.