The unlikely feature that EVERY F1 car on the grid has

F1 Features & Analysis

The unlikely feature that EVERY F1 car on the grid has

Every single F1 car on the grid has a rather intriguing hidden feature

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Monday 21 August 2023 12:57

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After Sergio Perez crashed his RB19 during qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, Red Bull were furious in the aftermath.

Not at the Mexican’s ability to keep the car on track – although the jury is out on their true feelings with his performance compared to Max Verstappen this season – but rather at the removal of their rocketship.

Despite being the most dominant car on track, there was a great deal of intrigue and mystery surrounding what exactly made Adrian Newey’s brainchild so powerful.

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So when Perez’s RB19 was attached to a crane and hoisted high into the air, all eyes were on one thing – the floor.

The previously secret undercarriage was exposed for all to see and the thousands of hours dedicated to its creation now hung out as if it were simply washing on a line.

Mercedes, Ferrari and the rest of Red Bull’s F1 rivals quickly got to work no doubt to see what they could ascertain from its intricate design.

Yet for a section of F1 fans, something far more intriguing stood out.

F1's curious feature

Sergio Perez's RB19 is hoisted into the air after crashing during qualifying at Monaco

Running through the middle of the RB19’s floor was something so at odds with the peaks, troughs and curvature of its floor – a plank of wood.

To many, this came as no surprise. Yet for those somewhat newer to the sport, perhaps caught up in the wave of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, the inclusion of something so barbarically simplistic on such a complex design was an incredibly jarring principle.

Thoughts then turned to the shower of sparks that are seen coming from the back of an F1 car and the use of wood became even more bizarre.

Yet the fact of the matter is, that plank of wood is a key reason as to why the sparks fly behind the cars.

Made out of a wood material called Jabroc, the plank is known as a skid block. Jabroc is traditionally made of beechwood, with veneers and resin used in each layer as it is built in a composite process.

Mandated in the sport since 1994, following the accident that led to Ayrton Senna’s tragic death at Imola, the planks fitted underneath every car demonstrate how close it is running to the ground by the amount of wear shown on the wood.

When new, the Jabroc must be uniformly 10mm thick, with a 0.2mm margin of error permitted. The thickness of this plank is one of the parc ferme tests carried out following qualifying and race sessions.

If the plank shows wear of more than 1mm, the driver of that car will be disqualified.

Michael Schumacher was caught out with this very issue after the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix, back when he was driving in a Benetton. The F1 great crossed the line in first, but lost his race win due to excessive wear on his skid block.

But what about the sparks?

Sparks fly out the back of Sergio Perez's RB19

A plume of sparks flying out the back of an F1 car becomes that much more unnerving when you know there is a plank of wood underneath it.

Yet the sparks are not caused by the wood itself, rather a few carefully positioned pieces of titanium.

To avoid the skid block being worn out excessively, teams strategically place titanium skid blocks of no more than 3mm in depth that serve to protect the wooden plank.

And when travelling at higher speeds, the downforce increases and pushes the car closer to the track. This is why the sparks are more noticeable on the straight, especially at the start of a race when up to 110kg of fuel is also on board.

The sparks that fly is therefore a sign that things are working as planned, with the titanium skid blocks making contact with the floor, rather than the wood.

Although each F1 team spends countless hours looking to eke out fractions of a second worth of an advantage compared to their rivals – the uniformity of the wooden plank will remain the same for each competitor.

Therefore the next time you see an F1 car hoisted into the air by a crane at a race weekend, be it Lewis Hamilton, Logan Sargeant or Fernando Alonso, don’t be surprised to see that very same plank of wood on display.

Written by

Matthew Hobkinson - Lead Editor

After four years working for a Lloyd's of London insurance syndicate, lockdown gave Matt the chance to chase a career in sports journalism - he hasn't looked back. Matt has found a home here at GPFans where he can showcase the weird and wonderful world of F1 to the millions of fans around the world who are just as passionate as he is about the best sport in the world.

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