Formula 1 fans should be familiar with this liquid compound, but many “new fans” are surprised when they see teams cover their cars with some kind of green or yellow liquid.
The fluid is called FloViz – also known as paraffin – and is used by the teams to visualize the aerodynamic flows in the car. However, most of the public does not know much more about it.
It is a fluorescent powder that is mixed with a paraffin-based oil.
Philipp Brändle , who worked at Mercedes as an engineer on Lewis Hamilton’s car until the end of 2019, gave insight into working with such paint. An element that is only applied shortly before the car goes out on the track for testing, and for a reason.
As the F1 enters the track, the airflow drags the liquid particles along the painted surface. “And at some point (which is relatively soon, but you don’t always know exactly), this liquid dries up and then stays in this more solid state on the [car’s] surface,” Brändle explained on ServusTV .
Back in the box, the aerodynamic engineers take photos from all possible angles and with different lighting to save them later on the server, from where they can analyze them later.
“You really look at the flow conditions in detail. What kind of vortex structures do we have? Do we have shedding on a wing?” says Brändle. “And that compares to comparable wind tunnel measurements or CFD.”
The downside is that, of course, rivals can also take pictures of other people’s cars in motion and possibly extract knowledge from them. But Brändle believes that sacrifice is necessary.
“If it’s not done, of course no data is extracted,” he says. “If you spy, you only see the result. But what exactly that [aerodynamic] configuration was, the others don’t know.”
The teams themselves, on the other hand, know exactly which component they have measured and in what way. Also, they often let the other car go with a different setup and then compare the results.
According to Brändle, the FloViz is especially a task for pre-season testing or Friday practice, and on Saturday you try to avoid it (even in a Saturday practice session). Only in an emergency – for example, if the images have not worked or the test was not good – is the paint used again on Saturday.
“You try to avoid using it in FP3. I would prefer to go for an [aerodynamic] evolution in the next race,” says Brändle. “The reason is simple: it makes a huge mess. You have to clean up a lot after using it.”
Enjoy all these photos of F1 cars with paraffin
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Uncredited
Photo by: Charles Coates/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Charles Coates/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Charles Coates/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Evgeniy Safronov
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
