F1 puts on more weight
Over the Bahrain test, the FIA agreed to a 3kg minimum weight increase following concerns from multiple teams that their 2022 cars were considerably overweight. That’s largely down to the introduction of the 18-inch tyres, along with changes to the safety systems and structures on board the car, but the FIA has also conceded that some of the standardised parts have tipped the scales higher than expected.
With the increased number of standard parts, which are aimed to help the teams cut costs to meet the budget cap, it has been a struggle to bring cars down to the 795kg minimum limit. That, allied to the need for some teams to strengthen their floors to limit flex, has resulted in a slight weight increase to help sweeten the pill.
“The issue with the weight is that certain standard components turned out to be a bit heavier than anticipated, and that was not in the team control,” said FIA head of single-seater matters Nikolas Tombazis. “So we wanted to compensate for that, or not penalise teams as a result. Obviously a lot of teams have been struggling with weight this year, more than normal. As part of the whole package, let’s say, there was an agreement on a 3kg proposed increase. That is awaiting F1 Commission approval, so it’s not a guarantee at the moment.
“Tyres were only a small amount heavier, I think 100g [more in total] compared to the prediction, quite a small number. The wheel rims were about equal weight to the predictions, maybe a smidgen less. And then wheel covers turned out to be a bit more heavy than expected. That was the bulk. There’s been quite a lot of effort to make them cheap, because they’re quite expendable. And we didn’t want to have to make [them expensive]; we could have made them lighter, out of carbon or something.”