Photo Credit: Williams F1 Team
The brand-new engine and chassis regulations will throw a challenge to the teams in not just getting the aero and power unit performances right, but making sure the car will hit the minimum weight.
The engine rules will see a near 50/50 split between the internal combustion engine and the MGU-K. With the MGU-H being removed.
The greater reliance on electrical power will see the battery size increased and, subsequently the weight.
But the cars are expected to be lighter than they are during the current regulations thanks to being shorter. As well as, 10cm narrower and having smaller wheels.
Although there isn’t a defined number yet, the cars are expected to be between 40-50kg lighter.
Williams team principal James Vowles doesn’t believe anybody will be able to hit the minimum weight limit at the beginning of the regulations, much like at the start of the 2022 season when the limit had to be increased.
He told Motorsport.com: “2026 has very interesting regulations at the moment that reward weight in a way that no other championship has, because it’s such a low number. I don’t believe anyone can hit that.”
Free time to be won
Being as light as possible is essentially free performance. An extra 10kg of weight roughly equates to 0.3s worth of lap time.
Also, being below the minimum weight allows teams to tune their ballast to change the weight distribution.
So, anybody who can start the season with a lighter car will already have a competitive advantage in that area until the rest catch up.
In 2022, Sauber was the only team to have a car near the weight limit and for the first quarter of the season had the fourth fastest car. This helped them to sixth in the constructors’ standings at the end of the season. Despite being caught up as other teams shed weight.
The FIA’s head of single seater matters, Nikolas Tombazis said that it will be a challenge for the teams to get down to the weight limit. He stressed that the base number won’t come up once it’s been set.
“Clearly it will still be a challenge for the teams to achieve that low weight,” he said. “They’re not going to have an easy ride there.
“But we are going to stick to the weight limit we’re going to impose. We won’t be inflating upwards again.
“They [the teams] will just have to push harder to reduce the weight if it creeps up again.
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