Have you ever wondered who paints the lines on a Formula 1 track?
Just like ensuring crisp edges on a home’s trim, every line on the track must be meticulously applied, especially before a big event like the Grand Prix.
There are some specialty products involved, for sure. But a lot of the process would look familiar to painting contractors: brushes, spray paint, and masking tape to maintain sharp, clean edges.
A video posted last week by Matt Amys, of Roadgrip, an industry leader in line-marking for international motorsports, provides an inside look at the life of a Formula 1 track painter.
The video shows a firsthand look at the preparation for the Belgian Grand Prix. Roadgrip receives specific designs for the runoff areas, with Spa-Francorchamps featuring a red-yellow stripe pattern that complements the black pavement and nods to Belgium’s national flag.
“With Spa being seven kilometers around, it’s quite a considerable amount of linear meterage,” said Oli Middleton from Roadgrip. “7,000 meters round. Two edge lines. There’s 14,000 meters of line before you even start doing the grid and the pit lane.”
For this work, Roadgrip uses Samoline’s Antislip paint. While this paint helps maintain traction for cars in wet conditions, its gritty texture can pose challenges during application. The grit can clog air-mix sprayers, requiring constant attention to keep the paint flowing smoothly.
Artificial Intelligence seems to be changing everything, and track painting is no exception. Formula 1 introduced AI to monitor track limits, using a light blue line painted to demarcate the track’s boundary, allowing AI to detect violations.
It’s a fascinating video, even more so for painting contractors, who probably understand better than most what’s really going on.
