Carbon fibre is a dream material for making strong, light car parts quickly from computer designs. There’s no other material that really compares in terms of manufacturing, speed and cost, which also has the properties to actually make itself useful.
But as the world seeks to reduce its reliance on and production of carbon, is there any alternative to it for racing purposes?
Plastic could never be a replacement – it’s too heavy and not rigid enough. While graphene mixed with carbon fibre can make a stronger composite, it doesn’t really present an effective option on its own. A strong, lightweight, relatively cheap to manufacture (compared to forming metal) material like carbon fibre is basically unbeatable when it comes to making race car bodywork.
Even so, carbon fibre does have some downsides when it’s on the car. When it breaks it produces a shower of shards which create a significant debris problem, each splinter a puncture hazard.
In series like F1, where teams are keen…