While the focus of Formula 1’s next rules era is on a switch to V8 engines, an equally important part of the package will be a dramatic reduction in car weight.
After years of F1 machinery getting heavier, with this season the first since 1983 where the minimum weight has come down, the FIA is on a mission to get cars back under 700kg for the first time since 2016.
Right now, the minimum weight is 768kg, with the ‘nimble concept’ employed for 2026 having lopped off 30kg from the previous rules cycle, 2022-2025.
Another 80kg leap seems an ambitious one but, as the FIA’s single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis has explained, it's considered well within reach.
This is especially because the FIA’s own analysis shows that of the 200kg that car weight has gone up over the past 20 years, only 40kg of that was related directly to improved safety elements like the halo, stronger chassis sides and higher energy absorption areas.
That means there is a lot of room for manoeuvre to bring car weight down while maintaining current high safety standards.
Where the weight reduction will come from
There are three key areas of focus that the FIA believes will put F1 on course to deliver the planned reduction.
Some will come from the change of power unit, even though a main V8 block will be slightly bigger than a V6.
Tombazis told The Race: “We are looking to reduce turbo pressures significantly. That will reduce the pressures both inside the engine and the dimensions of the turbocharger.
“We plan to significantly reduce the complexity of both the inlet and the outlet of the engines - as currently they have a very complex 'spaghetti' of ducts leading into the engine.
“The exhausts are also all tuned for length and so on, so we plan to shorten and simplify those areas a lot.”
In terms of battery, which contributes a lot to the current car weight, the smaller electrical element planned for 2031 will result in this being cut back.
Tombazis added: “There will still be a battery, but it will be smaller, and consequently the MGU-K will be smaller.
“If it is smaller, it can probably fit on the side of the engine, which also will result in a lighter installation overall.”
There's also a plan to reduce the dimensions of the car to make it smaller, and wheel rim size could be reduced.
“They will not be 2021 size," added Tombazis on the rims, "so not 13-inch, but we can potentially go down a bit."
It is estimated that the extra weight of tyres triggered by the jump from 13-inch wheels to 18 inches in 2022 contributed about 25kg to the weight increase.
The third way that weight will be reduced is through an almost virtuous circle of cars not needing so many robust components and heavy aerodynamic parts because they are lighter and smaller.
“They will be about two and a half, three seconds faster just by weight,” added Tombazis. “So it means we can reduce aerodynamics and some of the loads, and help the tyres behave in a nicer way, and all for the same laptime.”
Added together, Tombazis believes these elements will be enough for the FIA to hit its target.
“When we do the shopping list and add everything up, we can get quite comfortably below 700kg,” he said.
“Now we are conscious that when we discuss things, there will be some kickback in some areas. We'll have to compromise a bit.
“There will be concerns about certain costs, but overall our target is to be below 700kg, and I think it will be a significant step to make the cars more exciting.”
Refuelling fades away
One question that cropped up as a consequence of the desire to reduce car weight was how that would fit in with a switch to V8s.
The move away from efficient turbo-hybrid V6s would likely mean more fuel needing to be carried to complete race distances – and that could wipe away any gains made from lighter cars.
That issue is why the contentious topic of refuelling returned earlier this year, as the FIA undertook a study to evaluate whether or not there were grounds to consider a re-introduction.
Teams are very against the idea, because refuelling is not good for the spectacle and there are the obvious safety and cost downsides, too.
Tombazis himself says the FIA is not supportive either, which suggests its return is all but dead.
“Generally [we are] not keen to go to refuelling and we also know the teams are not keen to go to refuelling,” he said.
“It adds a level of complexity and risk - but also importantly, it makes the pitstop windows far more defined before the race. So it means that there's much less flexibility to adapt to your strategy depending on whether you've lost positions or not.”
Tombazis believes that the refuelling element can be put to bed with momentum moving towards some form of turbo being used with the V8 engine.
“We've been discussing a lot and evaluating different options, and while there's nothing final yet, we don't want to completely get rid of a turbo,” he said.
“We want to retain efficient engines. If there's more horsepower on the ICE side, there will be a bit of an increase in consumption, but it's not gigantic.
“We feel that what we are going to save on the rest will certainly outweigh the fuel increase. The cars will maybe have about 20kg more fuel, maybe 25kg, but if they are lighter by say 80kg at the start of the race, it will still be much better.
“Then, of course, in qualifying you don’t have that problem.”
The next steps
The FIA’s consultation process with teams, car makers and drivers about the new regulations era from 2031 at the latest is well underway.
And while one of the lessons of how F1 ended up with overly complex rules in 2026 is that manufacturers had too much of a say in the concept, equally it is accepted that it would be wrong to totally ignore feedback from competitors – even if said feedback is not always complimentary.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said this week: “They will always complain but listening to them is also important. You cannot just ignore them and say ‘no, I'm not listening to you, this is what you get and that's it’.
“They are the ones who are driving - so it's their say at the end of the day. It’s more important.”
Ben Sulayem hopes that the framework for the next rules set can be agreed before the end of this year.
“I hope in a few months,” he said when asked about the timeframe. “Of course you push the teams to come back to you, and the PUMs [power unit manufacturers], and we will wait for them to come back to us.”
Sign-off this year would open the door for Ben Sulayem to try to get an agreement for the regulation switch to happen a year earlier than planned – so 2030. “I hope it will be agreed,” he said.