Alonso’s wild solution to F1’s visibility problem

Fernando Alonso has no doubt made and lost many friends since making his Formula 1 debut in 2001. But his idea to solve the problem of poor visibility in wet conditions will likely move F1’s race promoters to strike him off their Christmas card lists.

Last weekend in Spa, an 80-minute race suspension followed by four laps behind the safety car prompted several competitors to complain that race control was being too conservative. Those who had taken the risk of shifting to a higher-downforce set-up for better performance in wet conditions were most annoyed, since the track was already drying in several places when the race was finally green-flagged.

However, the issue was not so much a lack of grip as a lack of visibility with spray hanging in the air in dangerous high-speed sections.

Alonso believes the problem dates back to the adoption of wider cars and tyres in 2017. But he also – and this is what will trigger race promoters – believes the tracks could be resurfaced with a different type of asphalt to reduce spray.

“I think the tyres, the wide tyres definitely made visibility worse,” he told reporters ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian GP. “And probably some of the asphalt in the circuits, they are a little bit different than what they’ve been in the past. Because we raced with a lot of water in Sepang [Malaysia] and it was always okay.

“And now this new generation of asphalt, which is very black and very grippy in dry conditions, is like a mirror in wet conditions. And yeah, visibility is not nice. But I don’t know what we can do there or what the tyres can do in a very rough tarmac.

“And even some of the highways, I have said many times that the highways, there are some that they have zero spray. So if we implement that tarmac in all the circuits as a normal rule, we will have zero spray.

“Then it will be a huge degradation, probably, in dry conditions – I don’t know. But then we can work from that theme and have a starting point. But I’m just a driver.”

It would be an expensive undertaking indeed to resurface all the grand prix circuits likely to be affected by poor weather. And, as Alonso alludes, such a process could have unforeseen consequences.

Could Alonso’s theory work?

Many countries use specialised asphalt mixes on major highways to reduce spray. But this is not a magic process in which rainwater simply disappears.

Such surfaces are actually the opposite of the densely textured grading common to most grand prix venues. So-called Open-Graded Friction Course (OGFC) surfaces have a thin top layer of large, coarse aggregate (the particulate material) with a much lower than usual proportion of ‘fines’ (smaller particles). This type of ‘open’ grading is more permeable, so water drains downwards as well as off to the side.

OGFC isn’t used on all types of roads because it is more expensive and potentially less durable if not laid correctly. If the owners of permanent circuits frequently visited by the F1 circus were to find several million dollars down the back of the sofa, it would not be a magic-bullet solution because the more open grading would have a severe effect on tyre life and performance.

At optimum temperatures a tyre generates some of its grip as the outer surface pushes in to the void between the aggregate. A more open surface would give more work for it to do. Some circuits are already like this, notably Bahrain. That venue also highlights another potential problem for OGFC surfaces: sand and other such detritus can get in the voids, reducing their effectiveness.

So at the moment it exists merely as an interesting thought experiment, albeit one shared by other drivers beyond Alonso.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Carlos Sainz, Williams

Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images

“I always thought Formula 1 should, if possible, innovate and try something different,” said Carlos Sainz in Hungary.

“I think there are certain kind of Tarmacs that if you would put them on a straight line there would be no spray, and they exist but circuits don’t have them. Most circuits don’t have it.

“In the end the biggest problem for us is visibility. It’s what keeps us from racing.

“I think Spa is a very particular case where there’s been a very dark past at this track. The FIA consciously took a very conservative approach, and they warned us on Thursday [of the Belgian GP] that they would take a very conservative approach.

“Maybe we should have done a better job in communicating that or they should have communicated to the fans, to the world… just for everyone maybe to have a bit more awareness.

“I do think we could have raced a bit earlier than what we did, gone a bit earlier after the red flag, and the safety car could have lasted a bit less long. But you also need to put yourself in the shoes of the people that press the button to say go – and then there’s a massive accident because of a lack of visibility, and something fatal could happen, and they are in the end responsible for that situation to occur if you press the button.

“I understand also the conservative approach they took, even though as a racing driver I wish we could have raced a bit earlier.”