In the United Kingdom, Formula One racing major McLaren is using a natural fiber composite in the seats of its competition car. Developed in collaboration with Bcomp, the flax fiber seat composite provides the requisite strength and low weight for a race car while creating 75% less carbon dioxide to make. Other attributes include vibration dampening, torsion and compression.
“This seat is the first step in the successful application of natural fiber composites in F1,” McLaren F1 team principal Andreas Seidl tells Composites Manufacturing Magazine. “By working with Bcomp we can identify other components that we can replace with a sustainable alternative that has equivalent weight and performance. There is no silver bullet in the race to be carbon neutral. Instead, we must continually evaluate every element of our cars and our operations to identify the ways we can improve performance, drive efficiency, and reduce environmental impact.”
The seats are built using Bcomp’s powerRibs™ technology and ampliTex™ woven flax fiber reinforcements. powerRibs three-dimensional grid structure reinforces the ampliTex flax fabric. At the end of the seat’s use, the flax fibers can be recycled or will biodegrade.