16/05/2024
NEWS STORY
The FIA has opened the tender process for a lightweight Halo to be introduced as part of the 2026 rules overhaul.
The move is part of the drive to make the new generation of F1 cars lighter, the current generation of cars - at 798 kgs - among the heaviest in the entire history of the sport.
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.
As part of the drive the new generation of F1 cars are to be shorter and slimmer as the current cars are proving unwieldly and lazy, which at narrow tracks like Monaco and Baku makes overtaking all the more difficult.
"We aim to have a significantly lower weight limit, and we are looking to reduce the weight limit by 40 to 50 kilos in 2026," said the FIA's head of single seater Nikolas Tombazis last year. "The way we want to do that is related to what we've termed the 'nimble car' concept, because we basically feel that in recent years the cars have become a bit too bulky and too heavy."
As part of the slimming down process the FIA is looking to reduce the weight of the Halo by 1kg from the current 7kgs.
While 1kg might not sound like much, one has to remember the tremendous forces it can be subjected to in the event of an accident, a good example being Guanyu Zhou at Silverstone in 2022.
The potential supplier must deliver the new Halo, which must have passed the stringent strength tests, in which it will be subjected to forces exceeding 125 kilonewtons, in time for the 2026 season, the contract running until 2030.
While a number of junior series have opted for a steel Halo, the new version, like that currently in use in F1, will be constructed of titanium alloy.