Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has expressed concerns over reaching an ambitious minimum weight limit in the 2026 Formula 1 regulations.
Next year, among a host of changes across power units, chassis, aerodynamics and tyres, the FIA has written in a weight drop into the regulations.
In 2025, the minimum weight of the car, including the drivers is 800kg and next season the regulations are targeting an approximate 30kg reduction.
Horner implied this target isn’t realistic and believes other changes to the regulations will make meeting the new minimum weight target an “enormous challenge”.
Speaking to media including Motorsport Week in Miami, Horner said, “A number was plucked out of the air for car weight.
“We’ve got engines that are significantly heavier and a car weight that has become lower,” he continued.
“So it will be an enormous challenge for every team to achieve it. Saving weight costs a colossal amount of money.
“There was a discussion last week about introducing steel skids – maybe that would warrant adding five kilos to the minimum weight.
“But it is what it is. It’s the same for everybody. There will be choices teams make to hit the weight, because weight is free lap time.
“Every 10 kilos is about 0.35 seconds. It will be very challenging for all teams to get down to minimum weight.”
Weight loss is relative, argues Red Bull F1 Chief Engineer
Red Bull Chief Engineer Paul Monaghan shared Horner’s assessment that the targeted weight drop in 2026 is sharp.
However, Monaghan isn’t overtly concerned given all 10 F1 teams face a similar predicament, and any weight loss is relative to the ones Red Bull’s rivals can achieve.
Still, he also shared Horner’s concerns over costs and the enormity of the challenge engineering departments will face cutting weight.
“March next year, we’ll see how far overweight everybody is,” he said.
“It’s a relative scale. We might be overweight by X kilos. If everybody else is X plus, it doesn’t matter, does it?
“So it’s a massive challenge to get this car down to weight limit for 26, yes.
“Everybody will strive and it’s the design choices we make over the coming weeks, months, are really going to influence it.
“The homologation tests have got a bit more strenuous, adding weight.
“The chassis laminate will maybe save us a little bit here and there. And it’s going to be nip and tuck everywhere.
“You can get five per cent off every component, if you like.
“Crudely put, it’s five per cent off the car. Suddenly 5 per cent is a big number, isn’t it?
“It’s going to be expensive engineering to get the weight out of it. So we’ll try. We’ll have a go.”
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Its a minimum weight not a mandated weight.. There is a team championship so that the teams can demonstrate there technical prowess and teamwork. Its Formula 1 so lets drop the minimum weight by another 50 kg and see who the really smart teams are instead of watching cars go around with ballast as they do now..or is F1 now just entertainment where every team gets a prize and those that don’t get to sook. Christian is clearly a smart guy but much of the F1 commentary these days is aimed at people who are not motor racing fans but people who have a “flavor of the month” interest and no knowledge or understanding of the competition. The commentary should help them by being on point and factual as was that of Paul Monaghan