Mercedes is studying a shark fin to better identify the drivers

As in Monaco, this weekend, on the occasion of the Singapore Grand Prix, many drivers celebrated the event by sporting new helmets. This was the case, for example, with Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Romain Grosjean, and Sebastian Vettel, who has accustomed us to changing helmets like shirts.

Thus, nowadays, whether one is in front of their television screen or in the stands, distinguishing the drivers often gives the impression of discovering the latest installment of the “Where’s Waldo” series. For some time now, teams have been working on ways to improve the identification of drivers on the track. Nowadays, it seems to be fashionable for drivers to constantly change the design of their helmets, which makes them very difficult to recognize when they are in the car, confides Ross Brawn, director of the Mercedes AMG team, in the columns of the German magazine *Auto Motor und Sport*.

However, the recent regulations have also done nothing to improve the visibility of the drivers, who, once behind the wheel, are now placed lower in their seats than in the past. In recent years, for safety reasons, the lateral head supports for the driver have been raised. Thus, only the number remains to identify the teammates, but as Ross Brawn points out, for the moment, the required size for the car number is very small.

Indeed, according to Article 21.2 of the sporting regulations, each car must display the number of its driver (or their replacement), as published by the FIA at the beginning of the season, a number that must be clearly visible when facing the car. For its part, Article 21.1 of the same regulation stipulates that in order for the cars of each team to be easily distinguished from one another when they are on track, the onboard camera located above the roll structure of the first car [the one with the smallest number, editor’s note] must be predominantly fluorescent red and fluorescent yellow for the second car.

During the Young Drivers test at Magny-Cours, the Mercedes team tried out a new solution for identifying drivers. The F1 W03 driven by the New Zealander Brendon Hartley featured an engine cover extended with a small shark fin, similar to what is seen in GP2 or on endurance prototypes. This fin displayed Michael Schumacher’s number 07, the German flag, and the first three letters of the seven-time world champion’s name: « The solution with the shark fin at Magny-Cours was an experiment. Now, we need to see with the FIA if there are better initiatives, » explained Ross Brawn in Auto Motor und Sport.

The Briton also acknowledges that this solution might not be the most suitable: « We need to find the balance. If we have something too large, it could distract the public’s attention from the logos of our partners and sponsors. »

Indeed, the livery of a single-seater is often the reserved domain of sponsors, thanks to whom teams live or survive. It’s no coincidence that the team that most clearly identifies its drivers on its car is none other than HRT, known for its difficulties in securing sponsors. In 2010, the Spanish team displayed the first names of its drivers on the sides of the car, while in 2011, the F111 featured a shark fin engine cover with the drivers’ numbers. This season, the numbers of Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan are prominently displayed at the entrance of the sidepods, a spot highly coveted by sponsors.

Similarly, since 2011 and the departure of Phillips, the Williams team displays the number of its drivers on the side of its car, in a white circle for a guaranteed vintage effect. Indeed, in most categories of motorsports, the driver’s (or team’s) number is displayed on the sides of the car, notably in Rally or Grand Touring and Endurance races. That said, in single-seaters, the engine cover and the sidepods of the cars are prime spots for sponsors: Shell with Ferrari, Sahara with Force India, Vodafone with McLaren, Petronas with Mercedes, or Genii with Lotus. Today, due to lack of regulatory obligation, teams logically prefer to highlight their sponsors rather than facilitate the identification of their drivers.

Thus, very often, when teams clearly identify their drivers on the car, it is not without ulterior motives. Everyone will remember, for example, that in the early 2000s, when McLaren was sponsored by West – a tobacco company whose logo was ubiquitous on the Woking cars – the first names of the drivers appeared occasionally instead of West. By using the same typography and design as the tobacco company’s logo to write the names of Mika Hakkinen, David Coulthard, or Kimi Räikkönen, the British team found a disguised way to advertise its main sponsor, in countries and at a time when tobacco advertising was increasingly regulated.