The FIA evaluated the merits of switching to stainless steel skids at the Spanish Grand Prix, as they looked at ways in which they could prevent a repeat of the grass fires seen at the Japanese Grand Prix earlier in the season.

And, whilst it had initially appeared as though this change of material could have been implemented at a number of races this season, a decision has been taken to retain the titanium skids and continue to evaluate steel skids at selected races.

F1 cars to keep fire-starting skid blocks

Formula 1 has been using titanium skids since 2015, with the material mandated as teams had sought to use heavier materials, such as tungsten, which had become a safety concern in their own right.

This was due to a number of instances where skids became dislodged and resulted in damage to other cars. It was decided this posed enough of a risk that a lighter material should become mandatory.

The latest issue posed by the titanium skids is the result of a combination of factors, with the grass fires caused by sparks chief among them.

Sparks from the skid block thrown from the cars have proved to remain hot enough, for long enough, to ignite the grass.

This has been much more problematic with this generation of car as there’s a performance advantage in having them run closer to the track surface, which in-turn results in more sparks being generated by the skids.

A switch to stainless steel was seen as a means to reduce the effect but it would come at cost to the teams.

Not only is it heavier, it’s more prone to wear than titanium. This would create some performance issues for the teams and could theoretically have an impact on the competitive order, given each team will have a different reliance on, and sensitivity to, ride height.

All ten teams were involved in a test at the Spanish Grand Prix with one of their cars fitted with a stainless steel alternative during Free Practice.

Following analysis by the FIA, a decision has been made to retain titanium skids for the remainder of the season.

However, all of the teams must have stainless steel skid blocks available at all events, as they may become mandatory if similar grass fire incidents occur as seen in Suzuka early this year.

Furthermore, additional testing of stainless steel skid blocks will be conducted at selected events throughout the season to support further evaluation.

The test and a potential switch to a different skid material was an interesting plot twist from the governing body, as many had assumed that any risk of a repeat of the scenes that ensued at Suzuka would fall squarely on the circuit to resolve.

In Japan, as had been the case in China in 2023, the remedy was to wet the track verges and station crews around the venue at known ‘hot spots’.

A more permanent or technical solution is difficult, especially the latter as any technical intervention comes with a compromise.

With ride height being such a critical performance factor for these cars, having to raise that to accommodate a skid solution that’s more susceptible to wear could have altered the pecking order substantially, as it could alter the cars behaviour both mechanically and aerodynamically.

Added to this, we must also consider, whilst not a significant amount of weight, likely tallying somewhere in the region of 750g, the change from one material to the other would also have a bearing on how the team makes the minimum weight and how they use ballast around the car.

That in turn can change handling characteristics, raising concerns of further unknown impacts on the competition.

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