Formula 1 cars have gotten heavier with every regulatory change, with the latest modification in 2022 seeing a 46kg increase, largely due to new safety improvements.
The new generation of single-seaters has a minimum weight of 798 kg without fuel. If you add the full fuel load, which is 110kg, the cars weigh over 900kg at the start of a race.
That’s a far cry from the pre-hybrid era, when cars weighed between 595kg in 2008 and 642kg in 2013 without fuel.
That weight gain has become increasingly unpopular with drivers, who lament that it has caused the cars’ handling to slow down, playing against their incredible performance-level performance.
Responding to a question from Motorsport.com about the impact of the new regulations in this regard, Max Verstappen acknowledged that he felt the cars are now “extremely heavy”, but added that he didn’t think there was a quick fix as the Most of the weight gain has come as a result of the new security measures.
“I think you can race quite a bit better now, so that’s positive,” Verstappen said. “But of course the cars are extremely heavy, which I think is not good, for really either or I see a quick fix.”
“But in general, following other cars and that has improved now. It’s hard to make a big difference in that aspect, but I think now we have more chances to fight.”
“But obviously on some circuits it’s still very difficult to follow other cars, but that’s also because of overheated tires and stuff, so yeah, there are still things that can be improved.
Verstappen ‘s musings were echoed by some of his grid mates, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll hoping that future weight reduction will make cars more nimble.
“I think the weight of the cars is too high at the moment and I would like to see a solution for the next few years,” said the Canadian driver.
“There are many things that can be changed and improved, but without a doubt that is something that I think we should try to improve: we have to make the cars a lot more pleasant and agile to drive.”
Mercedes’ George Russell agreed with Verstappen and Stroll , admitting that the safety improvements behind the added weight of current cars will obviously make significant weight reduction difficult to achieve.
“As Lance and Max said, having lighter cars would be great, but you can’t have everything in the world,” Russell said when asked what areas he would improve on the new cars.
“The reason we are heavier is for safety, so yeah, I don’t know what to say,” he concluded.
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