F1 Decoded: Skid Blocks Explained

This episode demystifies the skid block/plank regulations—how it works, why it exists, and how teams balance performance against legality. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Welcome to F1 Decoded, the podcast that breaks down the world of Formula One from the technology behind the cars to the strategy on race day and the rules that shape the sport. We unpack everything that makes F1 tick. Whether you're new to the grid or a longtime fan wanting a clearer view of what's really going on, this is where the sport gets decoded. Today we're looking at the ins and outs of the skid blocks. Let's get going. Today, uh well I'm Scott. Today I'm joined with again by Mohan, of course. Mohan, how are you? Um, well, thank you. Good to be talking to you. Absolutely, mate.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Um, why don't you tell the listeners what we're talking about today? So, what we mentioned uh at the beginning of uh last week, in terms of reworking the format that we want to present for this year, one of the key areas we want to look at is to try and demystify some of the technical aspects of Formula One cars. So we looked at the regs last week, and without actually delving into the detail of the rigs, we looked at the rationale and the thinking behind why those regs actually changed. So today we want to discuss a particular aspect about these cars that is that brings up a lot of controversy and brings up a lot of debate. And that is the skid block or the wooden wooden floor that forms the base of Formula One cars, and it's quite a key safety feature in those cars as well. So hopefully we can demystify this to some extent. But also at the end of it, if you have questions or anyone wants more information, please let us know.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Absolutely. Well, let's jump straight in. So tell me, Mohan, the skid block and like you said, often called the wooden plank, uh, it emerged after the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix tragedies. How did the loss of Roland Ratzenberg in Ayrton Center drive its introduction to limit downforce?

SPEAKER_01 2:01

That particular crash and the outcome of that was the outcomes of that were actually there was a broader set of changes that came out of those crashes. And the skid block was one of those. And it was introduced to minimize the risks sort of associated with high-speed cornering and any excessive downforce. So, particularly given with the ground effect cars and the downforce that they actually create, um, it was it was an intent to try and minimize the the amount of ride height in these cars, um, and sort of so that they don't generate excessive downforce. Um it's there it has actually proven to be quite a significant change that was introduced because I think overall it has it has significantly reduced the number of fatal accidents and serious injuries that are caused in this sport. Obviously, the sport is inherently risky and always will be, but this skid block change is actually quite a massive step towards improving safety and is obviously now a standard feature in all F1 cars.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

You'll need to explain this one to me, I think, because with with this, you know, when when we talk about downforce, I would have thought more down force is safer. But is it is the situation one where really that the downforce is allowing the cars to be pushed around corners at or excessive downforce at a at a limit that's so extreme that at the loss of downforce then then usually results in a catastrophic crash? Is that right, or is there something else here that I'm missing?

SPEAKER_01 3:30

It is it is in a sense because obviously the the key aspect of the downforce is to keep the car on the track, particularly on the straights in that sense. And with the view that it kind of releases to some extent around those corners. But the but having too much of that down force around the corners doesn't release the car enough to to safely navigate those corners. And that was where the problem is actually coming. And so Sennus Crash is a classic example of that. That coming at high speed around those corners, there wasn't enough control in the car. And this change is obviously to try and limit that.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

There's probably a whole episode we could do on Senna's crash. There's a lot around that. Yep. So initially crafted from um Jabrock, I think that's how you say it, a beechwood composite, the skid block enforced to minimum minimum right height, as you said. Why was this unique material chosen over advanced composites like carbon fiber?

SPEAKER_01 4:21

In choosing this material, it was a balance struck, I guess, between uh it being functionally simple, but also being cost effective within the regulations as such. So the unique nature of this material sort of allowed for the minimum ride heights to be enforced by the FTA, FIA, but also sort of promoting safe racing. The other part of Jabrock as a material is the fact that the wear on this material can be quite predictable. So when when teams are adjusting the cars and managing it, it um the wear and the wear on that particular material was a direct indication of the car's ride height in that sense, basically. So it allowed teams to control that ride height a lot more a lot more tightly. But as I mentioned before, it is simple and a cost-effective material. Um and the nature of this material also, I guess there's some sort of built-in deliberate uh sort of failure mode in the in the material. So that in the event that the car sort of bottoms out or experiences excessive wear and the jab the bl the skid block would wear down in a more predictable manner.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

So I'll try not to speak too fast here. I I know we almost sound like we're on one 1.5 speed with how I speak. Uh by the 1990s, uh permaglass, uh, which is a glass reinforced laminate, replaced jabrock for the skid block. Uh Mohan, how do this material shift, improve safety and regulatory compliance?

SPEAKER_01 5:50

So this reflects a continued um, I guess, process improvement, system improvement in the sport that comes up. And this was another step where the developing a material that was that obviously continued that safety trajectory, but also remained reliable to a large extent. So permaglass, I guess, improved the durability that Jabrock had previously. Uh, it's essentially a glass reinforced laminate. It offers increased durability. It is a lot more resistant to wear compared to Jabrock. Um, and it it reduced the, as a result of it, it kind of reduced the likelihood of any failure of the skid block. And also dictates a more consistent ride height in the cars. So all of these combined, I guess, is the reason this was chosen as the next candidate for the skid block. And it is actually shown to be consistent in terms of performance, in terms of durability, while continued to comply within the regulations that the sport needs.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

So I I thought this this this block was supposed to wear, though. So is it is it is it what you said a case of the consistent wearing that that that they wanted, like having consistent kind of That's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

And also the fact of you don't want it while it you you it is expected to wear, you don't also want it to wear excessively as well. And this is why one, it obviously, as we found out in 2025, can can lead to disqualifications, but also teams, I guess, being outside the regulations in terms of running their cars a bit too low. So this is a place to try and find a nice balance between all of that.

SPEAKER_00 7:24

Right. So uh the and that leads me to my next question. So the it's a it's a 10 millimeter thickness and a strict one millimeter wear limit. The skid block is measured post-race, of course, via the inspection holes. How do these FIA rules ensure fairness on tracks with varying surfaces, like say, Monaco?

SPEAKER_01 7:43

Uh this actually has got quite a quite the the the introduction of this has got quite a quite an interesting background because as happens not just in Formula One, but in any sport, you have teams who and sports people who try and push those boundaries and the rules of that particular sport. And so the the introduction of the thickness and the limit, the limit of that thickness or the limit of the wear, uh, more more to the point. It it sort of ensured that that no particular team gained an unfair advantage over any other team. And so it also then allowed for uh a consistent process to post-race inspection, but also to maintain that flow regardless of of the terrain or the nature of the tracks, to try and maintain a consistency across all the tracks that are being raced or raced. And for it for the teams to easy uh find an easier way to control that ride height.

SPEAKER_00 8:40

Is there is there a safety risk risk just with cars bottoming out in general? I wouldn't have thought it would be a good idea to have the car bottoming out on the track at all. But obviously there's there's some allowances for that given the risks that the the teams take. What are your thoughts about that?

SPEAKER_01 8:55

It is obviously there is there is a significant risk of cars bottoming out completely, aside from the fact of that the that the fork the floor can actually collapse completely if it's completely bottomed out. And that at the speeds that they're driving at, that is, that could be proved to be fatal in some cases. So there is the risk there, I guess. And so this is where the control of that within such a fine margin, control of that ride height is so critical to avoid that safety risk.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

So moving on from that, they also have the sparks coming out uh underneath the cars, which is not the car bottoming out, that's the the titanium skid planks um on the board, is that right? Uh it is actually, and it's in several places in the board.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

Right. Basically, I guess there's there's sort of a proof of the balance of um of the car. So it's a balance between the ground effect and the ride height, I guess. Um and obviously cars rely very heavily on the ground on the aerodynamics that are generated by the ground effect and channeling the air under the flow of the car. Sort of lowering the rider, it maximizes this effect, but also sort of increases the risk of the plank making contact with the track. So to protect the plank from excessive wear, which as you know is illegal if it's worn if it's worn beyond a particular level, those titanium blocks were introduced so that when those cars bottom out at sort of a high speed, these sort of skids grind against the tarmac, producing the sparks, which are pretty spectacular to see, particularly in the night races. But it's it's an indication that, you know, perhaps they're running a bit too low.

SPEAKER_00 10:28

Yeah, it tracks like Bahrain is quite quite spectacular to watch. But exactly, that's exactly what you said there, I think was my question. It's is this just a visual indicator for teams that the car is low? Is that is that the reason they're there?

SPEAKER_01 10:41

It is, and I guess when McLaren were disqualified from Vegas last year, and I think well before they even measured, there was so much talk, and obviously it was a nice trace, it was a lot more obvious that Oscar's car was running a little bit too low because of the amount of sparking that was actually happening. And so this, even before FIA have done the formal measurement, it's an indication that it's sort of no, you're you're almost sort of dobbing them in to some extent, I guess, in the sense to say, no, perhaps this car needs to be looked at a bit more closer because there's this clear indicator that there is something that they're running way too long. So right.

SPEAKER_00 11:15

So it's so also an indication for the stewards or scrutineers or whoever it is from the FIA uh to actually look at this car as well. So that's a yeah, double-edged sword. Um Mohan, the uh Michael Schumacher uh in Belgium Grand Prix in 1994, uh, he was disqualified there for skid block wear. Uh what loopholes did this expose early in the ride height enforcement?

SPEAKER_01 11:40

Um part of this, I guess, is again, as as I mentioned before, it comes back to teams uh pushing the boundaries and exploiting the rules to some extent. Uh and one of those is um sort of managing the ride height, sort of having tricks, I guess, of managing the ride height during the race. So um teams back then, teams like Benetton actually would set the car extremely low for better down force, knowing that during the race they would burn up fuel, which would actually raise the right height later before the end of the race, and thereby sort of reducing the plank where in in more stints. So if the if the plank was won too much post-race, obviously they would be disqualified. But there was one little trick that teams would manage. The other aspect, I guess, is any sort of curb damage argument that comes into it. So there was at the time there was no clear indication of um differentiating between actually whether the cars were running too low or whether there was damage caused by hitting a curb, basically. And that was something that had to be looked at. The other aspect, I guess, what also happened was teams were getting very clever in terms in terms of how um how they how they set up the particular planks in that sense. Back originally, the planks had sort of holes in certain parts, and FIA would would measure, would use those holes to measure only on those spots. So what teams were actually doing is they would set up their titanium blocks and things like that in those spots, particularly knowing that that was the position that FIA would measure and they would pass, regardless of how the rest of the plank had worn down, basically. So FIA get, I guess, got wise to this over time and now measure it in a random positions, which has probably over time led to way more disqualifications as a result of it. But it's also made the sport a lot fairer in that sense.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

So you mentioned Benetton and what they would do. I guess one of the questions I have for you is is the midfield teams navigate the constraints uh differently compared to top teams like McLaren?

SPEAKER_01 13:43

Yeah. Uh definitely. I guess it's a balance between um uh and you think of the larger teams have have greater resources at their at their disposal. And obviously their risk tolerance is somewhat different. And also their access to data, I think, is a lot more than the midfield teams. And it purely comes down to resource and all the facilities that they have. So what top teams, I guess, do, it's it's the balance between precision and the margin of safety and how you balance out the two things. So, what the top teams, I guess, do is they sort of use very cutting-edge simulations. They use the wind tunnel data, they use real-time telemetry to run their cars as low as possible without exceeding plank limits. So they're basically exploiting every single millimeter of legality that is that exists for within the regulations. What the midfield teams, I guess, do, uh, because they don't have the same level of resources at their disposal, they tend to run the cars at slightly higher ride heights, which obviously reduces the risk of overwear, but because it is the limitation of what they have access to to try and control that. And also they don't midfield teams don't have access to setups where they can fine-tune those flaws a lot more. Um, and it comes down to funding, it comes down to availability that McLaren and the teams further up the grid actually have got access to.

SPEAKER_00 15:06

Obviously, all teams are trying to find any small adjustment to grab extra seconds on the track. But which teams, do you think it's it's more so the top teams on the grid or or the midfield or the or the back markers? That which ones take more risks just to get those those extra milliseconds? Like, well, which teams, I suppose, where's that risk reward sit, do you think?

SPEAKER_01 15:29

When you look at the way the midfield teams and I and and and the targets for the top teams versus the midfield teams, I guess the midfield teams, if you look at um Williams' performance in the in the last season, basically, if someone had said to Williams at the end of 2025 season, you would be fifth in the constructors' championship, you would be P8 and P9 in the drivers' championship, you would have a few podiums, they would have taken that without a blink at the start of the season. And so for those teams, that is actually a a massive achievement. Whereas for the likes of McLaren and Red Bull and Ferrari and Mercedes and all those teams further up the grid, it is do or die in terms of winning the constructors' championship and the drivers' championship. So those teams, I believe, would take a lot more risks because the payoff is a lot bigger. Whereas for the midfield teams, they're happy to be in the midfield, and obviously they're not not always happy to be in the midfield. But for them, finishing in the midfield and and getting those results, similar to what Williams did, is is great achievement. And it's it's a chance for them to build that team or continue to build that team as they go along, basically.

SPEAKER_00 16:38

Yeah, I think what you're saying is that the the the expectation on those top teams is to be top teams, so they they they can't really overachieve. Um, they can only go backwards. So um the the difficulties you have at Disney Heights, I suppose. Um well answered. Uh so Mohan, tell me about the um 2023 uh uh the United States Grand Prix, is that was that the one we mentioned earlier? Or was it more the 2025 minority? China queues.

SPEAKER_01 17:06

Um and also um and I guess uh the the and the this happened in what are traditionally considered to be bumpy circuits, I guess, in that sense. And why there's reasons, I guess, why those circuits are particularly problematic. Um there's increased bottoming out because of the nature of those of those uh circuits. And even if sort of the setup is legal in the garage, the constant compression on the bumps can lead to excessive wear of the plank or the skid block. There is quite a trade-off between ride height and down force, and teams sort of obviously want to try and run their car as low as possible, but on bumpy tracks, that there has to be a balance to actually not run it solo that they end up being disqualified at the end of the race. The other complication that comes into it, and particularly in something like the US, is the fact of sprint weekends and where they in these situations, obviously, teams have very limited practice time and very limited time to get the setup of their cars right. So they don't have the three practice sessions before qualifying to tweak setups in that car. And if you look at uh the difference of um the teams, sometimes a team would rock up on a Friday and have a car that is absolutely struggling on a non-sprint weekend and come come qualifying on Sunday, they have got that set up perfectly right because they've had that extra time to actually do it. But the sprint weekend throws a spanner into that, into that because they don't have that time. And the other part of it, I guess, that is not insignificant is that during during a weekend, the track actually evolves to some extent. So we can which can actually increase the bumpiness of a of a particular track. And also due to the increased um buildup of rubber on the track and also uh change in temperatures during the during the weekend, all of these factors, I guess, feed into circuits like we're talking about, uh, where the risk of Planck weigh is is higher.

SPEAKER_00 19:03

Right. So rumors in 2024 suggested teams like Stake exploited a flexi floor design tied to skid block setups. Um, first of all, Mohan, what is a flexi floor? And how is the FIA tightened regulations to curb these grey areas?

SPEAKER_01 19:19

Earlier, I guess this came about, and it comes back to again teams exploiting the loop the loopholes. Earlier rules sort of permitted uh what's kind of like a satellite skid block that was placed away from the actual designated measurement areas. And I mentioned this was one way that teams, because they knew exactly where A5 would be measuring the plank at the end of the race, they would place these extra sort of skid blocks further away. Um, so that it actually tended to shield the zones within the flow that were that were susceptible to higher wear uh and and lower sort of ride heights in that sense. So I think 2024 Vegas Grand Prix onwards, uh if I banned those skid blocks because they saw that teams were using that as a means to to circumvent the uh the rules. Um and um um I guess overall it sort of introduced more even and stricter standards around the around the plank holes in that sense. So that the wear was even across the plank if it needed to be, and also meant that teams couldn't till till it was actually measured by FIA at the end of the race, they didn't know where it was going to be measured.

SPEAKER_00 20:35

Alright, so tracks like Spa with high-speed corners like Au Rouge amplify skip lockware challenges. How do teams optimize setups for such demanding circuits?

SPEAKER_01 20:47

I guess overall the top teams have advanced what their simulation models can predict, I guess, under how each track would wear down the floor. And as I mentioned before, the the the midfield teams that have got fewer resources will play it safer because they don't have access to the same models. The sacrifice there is obviously they do sacrifice a certain amount of lab time, but they do avoid disqualification by doing that. So part of this, I guess they have to be, they have to develop uh what's what's uh an adaptive strategy for managing ride height. Um so that they sort of start off with a slightly higher baseline ride height, whereas the the teams further up the grid can take the risk and actually run ultra-low setups because they have got advanced simulation at their disposal. And also there are corner-specific trade-offs, I guess, and a spa is a good example of that because some ride height is sacrificed on the strains, other straights uh to ensure the floor doesn't bottom out heavily in the corners and the elevation changes basically. There is progressive tuning of the suspension to remain compliant, and I guess there's progressive damping of the suspension uh to allow that. And this comes from sort of having softer suspension elements and sort of progressive dampers on the car that are sort of used in critical sections to absorb any sudden compressions that actually might have on the plank and not overload the plank as such. The positioning of the skid blocks is quite a critical thing and where and teams have actually learned what is ideal for their car. So no two cars would be the same in terms of how they actually set up. And they would set it up and also depending on the course that they're going to race on. So all of these factors, I guess, collectively, um allow sort of teams to optimize setups based on one resources at their disposal, but also understanding how each track behaves.

SPEAKER_00 22:54

Penalties for excessive skid block wear can reshape race outcomes. Um how do teams strategize uh strategize to avoid sanctions on high downforce tracks like Hungary?

SPEAKER_01 23:04

Yep. Um So if you think of teams like Red Bull and McLaren, they actually, uh as I mentioned before, there's a lot more at stake as far as they are concerned. So they would skim the edge of what is legal as they do. But uh the the midfield teams play with a much narrower margin for error, I guess, in that sense. So one of the ways is to compromise and having a slightly elevated ride height. Uh, and this improves sort of their margin of safety of not getting disqualified at the end of the, at the end of the race. But also there is a compensation for the aerodynamics of the car by doing that to some extent. So there's some tweaks to the flow edges and to try and regain any lost down flows from having run the car at a at a higher height in that sense. There is a certain amount of tuning of the suspension that goes on to allow for any bumps and curves. So that there's, I guess, a softer setup overall, particularly in the case of uh the Hungary circuit, which allows sort of to smooth out the relatively tricky curves on that circuit. And there's sort of very fine tuning that is done to the front and rear stiffness to ensure the car doesn't use sort of nose dive kind of braking or squatting under braking, which can grind the skid blocks at the front and the back of it, basically. So this is these are sort of some of the things that the teams would actually try and use for a circuit like Hungary. But as I mentioned before, this is comes down to sort of circuit by circuit, the setup is adjusted depending on the predicted wear on those circuits.

SPEAKER_00 24:38

Right. So 2026 regulations set to redefine ground effect cars. Uh the skid blocks future, we mentioned this in the past episode, um, is under scrutiny. Uh could it evolve or be replaced to balance speed and safety? What are the what's what's currently happening? This is all kind of real time, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 24:54

Yeah. And I think as you mentioned before, there is um obviously looking at materials that would wear less, I guess, in that sense that that but there has to be a balance between wear and weight as well. So the the the choice of material that could be used is is still under consideration. But this is this is an ever-evolving space, and FIA and teams are always looking at how they can actually uh improve this. The reason I guess this continues to be under debate is that the current cars, and obviously the 2026 regulations changes that to somehow, that there is a massive reliance on the ground effect. And this sort of uh they have had to enforce minimum ride heights because of that reliance on ground effect. But it also sort of means that teams tend to flirt with excessive bottoming out in that sense, and you know, leads to paupocing and things like that, that can happen. Teams have, I guess, complained at times that the policing by FIA is somewhat inconsistent, that the way where checks are done, even though we think it's now even, the the teams are obviously a lot closer to this. And they've there's been sort of uh grumbling, I guess, in the background that this is that the the policing of this is is very inconsistent. So with the 2026 change in regulations, which we've spoken about in uh in a previous episode, one of the key aspects and one of the key changes is the active aerodynamics that is to be introduced. And this is, I guess, expected to reduce the drag on the straights and improve the cornering performance of these cars. So that over time the actual overall role of the of the plank may actually, it won't go away, but will diminish certainly. So that ride heights actually will will fluctuate dynamically, um, so that making a fixed wear measurement less relevant as time goes on. So um could it evolve or be replaced altogether? Um the one of the many things that have been discussed is the fact of that there could be an introduction of sort of real-time ride height sensors built into the cars. Um there's a sort of a load monitoring of any any deflection of load on those cars instead of simply having an absolute measurement at the end of the race. As manufacturers evolve as as new technology comes out, new materials are under consideration always. And that if you look at the progression of the of the skid block of the plank and the materials that have evolved over time, it's not unreasonable to think that in a few years we could be using a totally different material or a totally different process for measuring this the right height. Um, and it's expected that if if the flow gets redesigned to that expedite, that the ground effect suction will be a lot less aggressive than what it currently is. And that actually may remove or reduce the need for such strict enforcement of the of the plank itself. So these things are all an evolving space and year by year, season by season, and to some extent, there are some regulation changes that do happen on the fly as well, because FIA is, if nothing else, adaptable, basically. They're constantly looking at how they can improve this while keeping the sport fair across the board and also balancing out the teams further up the grid versus the teams that are in the midfield who don't have as much access to much as much resources so that they're all racing on an even plane.

SPEAKER_00 28:23

All right. Anything else on this topic that you want to throw out there before we wrap up?

SPEAKER_01 28:28

I guess it's a case of watch the space because it will be interesting given the rule changes for 2026. And I guess we are yet to see the full effect of those rule changes and how these cars will actually behave. So it's not unreasonable to think that there could be further changes that come even this year as a result of how these cars behave, basically. But it's it's a space that has has evolved for quite a long time and it continues to evolve. Um, and we will keep monitoring as we go along.

SPEAKER_00 28:57

All right, Mohan Rothway and our socials for everybody that they want to contact us.

SPEAKER_01 29:01

Our website is boxboxbox.net.au, uh, which also leads us, leads you to our socials on Facebook, Instagram, uh, and X. Uh we it takes us to all the links of our podcasts, and uh we are on all recognized platforms. And as of this week, we are on Amazon Music as well. So if you have any questions or you have disagreements with what we've said or or would like us to discuss particular aspects in this sport, uh please uh shoot us an email at info at boxboxbox.net.au and we will make sure we respond to that and certainly take any comments, questions, or suggestions on board.

SPEAKER_00 29:41

Yeah, very true. If you don't like us, reach out. That's um that's a good way to get some get some feedback. Someone who's who's who's fired up. That'd be uh yeah, that'll be a good thing.

SPEAKER_01 29:48

Absolutely. We're very new to this and uh we we we uh we are certainly open to feedback, uh constructive feedback, because we want to improve and also bring you what you want to hear.

SPEAKER_00 29:59

Yeah, don't don't record next to a barking dog. All right, so all good. Thank you, Mohammed. Um so we've got a few episodes coming out, so um we'll be back next week at the very least. Uh same race time, same race channel. So thank you, Mohammed. Thank you. Thank you.