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Current cars have been criticised for their size and weight, with a reduction in both targeted for the next generation of rules.
In Canada, the FIA issued a press release revealing the target minimum weight for the chassis would be 768kg, a reduction of 30kg on current levels to create more “nimble” cars.
“We are quite determined to reduce the weight of the cars,” outlined Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA single seater director at the time.
“We’ve got a range of areas where we know weight will go up, and we’ve got a range of areas where we know weight will go down.
“What we have as a target is based on a challenging but what we feel is a feasible target.
“Clearly we are going to be still asking teams for some estimates about the weight savings they can make and so on, and we’re going through that process.
“But we are pretty determined to reduce the weight in a significant way, which was the first time this is happening I think in Formula 1 since probably the 80s or something.”
That reduction is intended to be achieved with 722kg of chassis weight plus 46kg in tyre weight.
However, the regulations published on the FIA website reveal a minimum chassis weight of 724kg.
Speaking in Canada, Tombazis noted the minimum driver weight would be increased from 80kg, as it currently is, to 82kg.
“The discussion has been whether the allowable weight for the driver should be 80 or 82 kilos,” he explained.
“The feeling was at 80, you could penalise if you have a slightly heavier driver, and we are going to be going to 82 kilos.”
Whether that difference accounts for the increase in the initially quoted minimum weight figures versus what has been published in the regulations is unclear.
Another new element is the ‘Heat Hazard’ mass, a four kilogram allowance for team to fit cooling systems to their cars to benefit the driver in certain conditions.
Article 4.2 of the regulations, which specifically relates to ‘Minimum Mass’ outlines that “When a Heat Hazard is declared, the Minimum Mass will be increased by 4kg.”
It follows comments from Tombazis at the end of 2023, in the wake of the Qatar Grand Prix, revealing the FIA intended to introduce rules designed to protect drivers in extreme conditions.
“What we still haven’t put in as regulation but is a broad intention to have when the weather conditions exceed a certain level, to then get us, the FIA, to declare that the race is in those conditions and then to give an extra bit of weight for the cars – something like probably two kilos – which will be mandatory,” Tombazis explained at the time.
“And it’s mandatorily used for the purpose of cooling the driver.
“That will enable solutions such as cooling vests and these sorts of things to be fully investigated.
“We have wondered whether it would be best if we regulate what exactly would have to be fitted and we feel that if we start trying to standardise a system, the addendum and all of that would be quite a slow process.
“We feel if we give the teams, ‘you have two kilos, you must use it for this purpose’, it will be in their interest to do that because that will keep the drivers cool and focused and not lose any performance.”
The regulations also confirm that, as initially announced, the physical size of cars will decrease with the 2026 era machines to be 100mm narrower and 200mm shorter than their current counterparts.
In total, the sport’s new technical regulations run to 206 pages, 30 more than the current technical rules.
