FIA president Muhammad Ben Sulayem and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali recently came out in support of reducing the net weight of the current F1 car. They aim to achieve it with the support of the teams by 2026 when the next overhaul is planned. Though the top regulating body is yet to unfurl the specific changes that will come into effect from 2026, there are apprehensions regarding the same. Now, various team technical directors have also come ahead advocating for the same cause.
The 2022 era shift saw the highest year-on-year growth with an increase of close to 43kg from the preceding year. Right from the aerodynamical changes to bigger wheels, multiple things contributed to the increase in weight of these new cars. Over the years, the introduction of batteries, energy recovery systems, and modern-day safety systems led to a gradual increase in car poundage. As it stands, the current minimum weight of an F1 car is 798kgs.
Recently, when the two honchos said out loud that efforts should be made to arrest and reverse this cycle of constant year-on-year growth, various team bosses and technical directors also come out with a concurrent view. Many experts believe that the new and heavy machinery is not healthy both in terms of future environmental commitments and for competitive racing.
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Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren bosses aim to work toward lighter F1 cars
In a recent interview with the F1 website RaceFans, Mercedes team technical director Allison James gave his opinion on this hot-and-coming topic. Allison also laid down the best way to achieve it, which he believes is a simple delegation of the same to the teams themselves. “I strongly agree with Stefano,” said the Mercedes man. “The way to make it lighter is to lower the weight limit and make it our problem.”
Not just Mercedes, Arch Rival Red Bull also concurs with the same view. However, a primary concern for technical director Pierre Wache is a compromise on safety that might happen due to it. “I’m not sure that we would have a significant change in terms of weight, and I agree we should do [it] with this type of safety we want to achieve because it’s the most important aspect,” said Wache.
Moreover, Mclaren team principal Andreas Stella also gave a nod in affirmation. Stella believes that the teams can reduce the weight of current cars by up to 50kg with some technical changes. He even added that reducing the weight would be a welcome change and everyone would appreciate it. Tell us what you think of the same in the comments below.
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