(Motorsport-Total.com) – The 2026 generation of Formula 1 cars are significantly lighter than their predecessors – at least in theory. The minimum weight of the cars has dropped from 800 to 768 kilograms. However, especially at the start of the season, not every team will reach this value.
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“Weight is a huge topic,” said Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer at the beginning of the year in the podcast Backstage Boxengasse from Sky. At the time, he also referred to the last major rule change in Formula 1 in 2022.
At that time, with the Alfa Romeo, there was exactly “one single” car among the ten that reached the minimum weight right at the start of the season. “All the others were between ten and 20 [kilograms] over [the minimum weight],” said Bayer.
“And I don’t think it will be much different this time,” the Austrian predicted even before the winter testing in Bahrain. In fact, Williams, among others, confirmed there that they had not yet reached the new weight limit.
The 2026 Formula 1 cars in their final designs on the racetrack
And at Red Bull, too, it was admitted that the RB22 is currently still suffering from excess weight. Pierre Wache revealed: “Like everyone else, we are trying to reduce weight after the winter. We have some challenges regarding weight, but that is the case for everyone.”
“Maybe some have done a better job than us, but we have to save some weight on the car, as it is always our philosophy to make the car faster and not worry about weight restrictions or anything like that,” he explains.
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Why a weight advantage is no guarantee
Already in 2022, Red Bull had to struggle with an overweight car at the beginning of the new rule era – but still became world champion at the end of the year. Because in Formula 1, the principle is that it is easier to make a fast car light than to make a light car fast.
This was also shown in the reverse case with Alfa Romeo at the time. The team benefited from the weight advantage at the beginning of the year and finished in the points in seven of the first nine races. In the last 13 races of the season, when the other teams had caught up in terms of weight, they only scored points three more times.
Whoever is already operating at the weight limit at the start of the 2026 season could have an advantage. However, this could also be quickly used up as soon as the competitors catch up in terms of weight. Especially since currently no one wants to reveal exactly how heavy their car is.
Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane says about midfield competitor Williams, for example: “I don’t expect them to publicly announce how much their car weighs, any more than I’m going to reveal how much ours weighs.”
“But let’s put it this way: some teams will have to make more optimizations than others. That’s for sure,” says Permane. When asked which category the Racing Bulls fall into, he replies with a grin: “I just said I wasn’t going to reveal that…”
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