McLaren will now use a digital display on its single-seater to display sponsors, with the firm intention of revolutionizing one of Formula 1’s marketing approaches. For the moment, the size of this display is modest and it will only be used in free practice, but the objective is to bring new ideas and ways of doing things to gain sponsorship. With this solution, we can already imagine different sponsors on either side of the car, a logo appearing only in the event of victory, or partners highlighted at a specific moment of the weekend, or even a specific lap. . The doors that could open are already fascinating, but it is also good to go back to the source of this new idea… which in fact germinated at the time of the modest Manor stable, which has now disappeared.
Among the companies the team worked with was Silverstone Paint Technology (SPT), who now supply most of the paint for the teams’ liveries. We remember that Manor struggled to sell the majority of the available space on its single-seaters to sponsors: because the long-term vision was lacking, and because it did not want to sell off the best locations. So Mark Turner, co-founder and CEO of SPT, pondered. He wondered if there was a way to quickly change a sponsor rather than constantly replacing stickers. From there came the idea of doing it digitally, leading Turner to found the company Seamless Digital, with whom McLaren is launching its new partnership this weekend in Austin.
“Manor was designing liveries with large empty spaces for major partners but it never materialized”Turner tells Motorsport.com. “It made us think: how do we monetize the sport in a different way, without relying on one big sponsor? And what kind of technology is there to help us? So we looked at ways to Quickly change the logos. Can we change the marks on a car in the race? Can we change them zone by zone? Can we have a different mark on the left side and the right side of the car? It was necessary that the impact is maximum, but the adverse effect is minimal in terms of weight. And that’s where this idea came from.”
The Manor liveries were regularly empty…
Manor left Formula 1 in 2016 due to a lack of financial means, but Seamless Digital did not abandon his project. The company pitched concepts to Formula 1 executives, talked to teams, and eventually got the technology right to make it work at McLaren. “It was really sad to see Manor go out of business, but it inspired and motivated us to do this”slips Turner.
No performance smokescreen
Out of the question, however, that this novelty is perceived as a gadget: to justify their presence, these digital displays must not hinder performance. They are therefore created in such a way that they do not protrude from the smooth surface of the single-seater and are perfectly integrated into the bodywork. Their weight has also been worked on to avoid any negative compromise.
“We are already working with 70% of the grid by providing aesthetic and high-performance coatings, and we are always looking to reduce weight or improve the surface finish”explains Turner. “While doing that, you get a good idea of what constitutes an acceptable target weight. So from the heaviest paints in 2021, which were over 3kg, we went down to around 1kg. allowed to have an idea of the success of this system. [d’affichage numérique] on the McLaren is around 200g. But we continue to work on its design.”
The innovative system installed on the McLaren MCL36.
This display system also does not need to consume the car’s energy unnecessarily to be powered and uses technology similar to that of digital reading lights. That’s why it’s only two-tone at this point. Color is expected to arrive later, while use on pilot helmets is also under consideration. As for the scale that such a system could take, it will above all be dictated by performance.
“They can get quite big”says Turner. “But the main restriction for them to grow is that you don’t feel like doing anything that would detract from the discourse that performance is at the heart of what you do. You could use a screen 90×50 cm, but we don’t think that’s an effective way to do it. So we don’t plan to occupy an area as big as a bonnet anytime soon. But what we have to do is figure out how to integrate it seamlessly into the livery, to make it part of it, and where best to install it in terms of performance.”
Interview by Jonathan Noble