‘Everybody wants it’ – FIA president calls for lighter cars

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has called for cars to become lighter when the next set of technical regulations come around in 2026.

In a major shake-up to Formula 1’s regulations that saw the return of ground effect aerodynamics last year, the minimum weight of the cars increased to nearly 800kg.

Currently, the cars are over 150kg heavier than they were a decade ago, and weigh nearly 200kg more than in 2008 – the year before the first energy recovery system, KERS, was introduced.

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The new aero package, coupled with the heavy hybrid systems in the current V6 turbo-hybrid power units, has contributed to an astronomic increase in weight in recent years.

Ben Sulayem, who himself competed as a rally driver, feels that the current formula does not lend itself to safety or fuel economy. Therefore, he suggests an alteration when the rules change again in three years.

“One thing I would like to see is very clear: we need a lighter car,” he told Motorsport.com.

“I believe this is better. I come from motorsport, where lighter cars are safer and they won’t use the same amount of fuel.  

“It will be hard to achieve, but everybody wants it. So I am pushing because I come from rallying, where nothing is worse than having a heavy car.” 

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali agreed that the increasing weight may not be sustainable going forward.

“One of the points that has always been a debate has been the weight,” said the former Ferrari boss. “As you know, with the hybrid engines, with the batteries, the weight is getting higher and that is something that is not really in the nature of F1. So, it’s a topic for discussion for the future.”