If you have been following Formula 1 over the past few seasons you have likely seen a common thread from each team’s challengers.
Black.
The reason? Teams are turning to bare carbon fiber, rather than painted surfaces, as a means of saving weight on their cars. The new regulations, implemented for the 2022 season, saw the cars heavier than ever and left teams scrambling to meet the minimum weight requirements.
Color was out and black, bare carbon fiber was in.
Ahead of the 2025 F1 season Mercedes announced a first-of-its-kind initiative. According to the team they are embarking on a program using sustainable carbon fiber, something that has never been done in F1.
In concrete terms, this means that we will qualify and apply sustainable carbon [fiber] composites to our race cars during the 2025 Formula 1 season, without sacrificing any on-track performance.
Carbon [fiber] composites form approximately 75% of our race car materials, helping us to achieve the highest levels of performance and safety. Innovations in these materials provide a significant opportunity to reduce the carbon footprint of our car, supporting our goal to achieve Net Zero across all scopes by 2040.
According to the team, “[w]orking closely with the FIA within the scope of the relevant regulations, we aim to demonstrate that sustainable carbon [fiber] composites can perform to the same technically demanding requirements as traditional materials.”
Mercedes has two projects underway to generate sustainable carbon fiber, one for the fibers themselves and a second for the resin necessary to bind the fiber together.
To achieve a sustainable carbon [fiber] composite, both components – the [fiber] and the resin system – must be addressed. Working collaboratively with our supply chain, the team has two separate projects underway for introduction later this year, one of which will address the resin system and one the carbon [fibers] themselves.
Mercedes believes the technology can spread beyond the F1 grid.
Our work on these pioneering sustainable materials projects in Formula 1 provides a significant opportunity to scale this innovation beyond motorsport. Innovation drives performance, and these developments can shape industry futures from aviation and aerospace to technical performance fabrics.
Mercedes F1 Team Principal Toto Wolff hailed the news.
“When you combine performance and innovation, you create progress. I am proud to lead a team of problem solvers who are committed to driving sustainable change,” said Wolff. “I would like to thank our partners for supporting our drive for material innovation, and to the FIA for enabling us to test these materials. Collectively we are moving the dial on sustainable products and demonstrating that Formula 1 continues to be the fastest laboratory in the world.”
The 2025 F1 season begins next week with the Australian Grand Prix.
