The FIA's head of single-seater technical matters, Nikolas Tombazis admits that going forward the sport is seeking to make cars leaner and thereby hopefully meaner.

The increased width, length and especially weight of the new generation of F1 cars has made them unwieldly and lazy, and at narrow tracks like Monaco and Baku made overtaking all the more difficult.

In 2013, the year before the introduction of the hybrid formula, the minimum weight was 642kg, compared to 2009, the final year of in-race refuelling, when it was 605kg, and 600kg in 2000.

Ahead of this season the planned minimum was 790kg but this was subsequently raised to 798kg, with a 2kg reduction planned for next season.

Understandably, along with the other issues brought about by the rules overhaul, many of the teams spent much of the season attempting to get down to the minimum.

While 2026 will see the new generation of power units, the sport is also planning further changes to the cars, one of the key aims being to "reduce car dimensions" and "reduce or contain car mass".

The current generation of cars are a maximum 2,000mm wide, up from 1,800 in 2017, while the maximum wheelbase is 3,600mm.

It is hoped that reducing the cars' dimensions could lead to a weight reduction of around 35kg.

"It is realistic to make them a bit lighter," the FIA's head of single-seater technical matters, Nikolas Tombazis tells The Race. "Not a massive amount; we have to consider that the difference in weight since 2000, say 20 years ago or so, is about 200kg, which is a massive number.

"Out of those 200kg, about 100 comes from the power unit," he continues, "so from the electrical parts, batteries, turbos and so on. That is a big weight increase.

"But it it is necessary to keep Formula 1 relevant to the directions of society," he warns. "While a petrol-head would like a V10 and end of story, we know we have to go in the direction we've gone. So that counts for about half of the weight increase. About 50kg-odd are for safety. So halos, much stronger chassis, bigger protections and so on and so forth. So again, nobody would want to compromise that.

"Then there's where the opportunity is, and there's about 15-20kg because of more complex systems on the cars and there's about 30-35kg on car dimensions. So cars being much longer and wider, bigger tyres and so on.

"We believe in the car dimensions there lies an opportunity. We would want 2026 cars to be quite a lot shorter and probably maybe a bit narrower as well and all of that is going to contain the weight increase.

"On the other side, there is a battery increase because we are going more electrical which is adding a bit of weight. So the net effect I hope is going to be a bit lighter, but not a massive amount."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Spindoctor, 29/12/2022 12:12

"The current crop of F1 cars are overly large, heavy behemoths.
As an ex-Lotus owner & fan of Chapman the notion of "Simplify, then add lightness” appeals enormously. The "Simplify" part of that would most auspiciously apply to the ludicrously complex Rules & Regulations which now extend into every aspect & area of F1."

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2. Posted by overdriver, 10/12/2022 14:38

"I recently had the misfortune to have to use the latest version of a popular small SUV. This came with an infotainment screen considerably larger that the telly we watched the Coronation on protruding significantly above the dashboard - which was fine for satnav purposes.
The driving experience was rather tiring as the little blighter fought me tooth and nail over who was in charge of the steering. Worse still was was when passing close to the rear of the vehicle in front to perform an overtaking manoeuvre it, in no uncertain terms, gave me dire warning of imminent catastrophic collision!
So surely herein lies the solution. Reconfigure Formula 1 to be 1 litre turbocharged 3 cylinder SUVs with highly visible road and traffic display screens, that actually want to steer themselves and won't allow crashing. Brilliant!"

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3. Posted by Superbird70, 09/12/2022 14:22

"The footprint needs to be smaller just reduce the chance of Max and Lewis running out of room while trying to pass eachother."

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4. Posted by CL, 09/12/2022 10:48

"Hi. I’m fully qualified to comment, as I believe the general public is thick as mince and I’m only capable of looking backward. Now, excuse me while I go check my order for a PHEV…’cos I actually live in the present."

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5. Posted by Max Noble, 09/12/2022 6:12

"@TokyoAussie - respectfully… the width of a bus, the length of a SUV, and the height of a MX-5 (minus windshield)… While still weighing less than a Toyota Yaris (just…). So not all bad really… Actually…
"

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6. Posted by TokyoAussie, 09/12/2022 3:10

"On one hand, these are racing cars first, but if the power unit does not evolve, F1 will be consigned to history in a few short years. But it is also somewhat crazy that a modern F1 car is the size of a bus. "

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7. Posted by BillH, 08/12/2022 17:21

"The only reason I can see that F1 has these complicated and expensive, heavy PU is that the manufacturers want them in the mistaken belief that people actually give a s#!t about the hybrid nature of the PU.
If Drive to Survive has taught us anything it is that the newer fans are interested in the drivers, the cars and the teams and that's about all they can handle, at best, before their eyes start glazing over.
Going back to a V8 or V10 would not be a problem for "relevance" because we are talking race cars, not road cars.
I must go and check the DRS is working on my aged Nissan before going to work this morning."

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F1 targets lighter, shorter cars

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