Why do f1 cars spark ?

One of the most common questions I need to answer friends who are new to F1 is , why do f1 cars spark ? With more night and evening races on the calendar, sparks look even more prominent.

But what are the sparks in f1 ?

The short answer

There is a resin material plank that is present below the floor of the car. When this plate touches the tarmac at high speed it sparks.

The long answer

But why does a f1 car have this plank ? It is all to do with the FIA F1 technical regulations. Racing teams try to run their cars as close to the ground as possible.  This helps with aerodynamic gains.

To make it easy to  police ride heights and make sure every car adheres to it, they have this plank that has to be placed across the floor of the car. The plank serves as a reference surface for ride height control and to limit how close teams can run their cars to the ground. The wear and deflection limits are designed to prevent teams from gaining excessive aerodynamic advantage by running the car too low or with a flexing floor.

Plank

• The plank is defined in Article 3.5.9 as part of the floor assembly.

• Key requirements for the plank include: Must be fitted between XF=430 and XR=-600Thickness must be 10mm ± 0.2mm and must be uniform when newMinimum thickness of 9mm will be accepted due to wearThe plank must have four precisely placed holes for conformity checks

• Material specifications: Must be homogeneous with a specific gravity between 1.3 and 1.45Or if pocketed, the upper 0.5mm must have a specific gravity between 1.3 and 1.65

• Construction: May comprise no more than three piecesThe forward piece must be at least 900mm in length

• Pocketing is allowed in certain areas, but with restrictions on depth and design

• Skids may be fitted to the lower surface of the plank, subject to specific area and material requirements

• Article 3.15.8 specifies a flexibility test for the plank and surrounding floor area: Maximum deflection of 2mm at certain points when the car is supported on those pointsThis test is to ensure the plank remains rigid and doesn't flex excessively.