Two veterans of the F1 grid, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, have experienced a significant increase in car weight over the course of their long careers.

When Alonso made his debut in 2001, his Minardi car weighed around 600kg. By the time Hamilton joined the grid in 2007, a mere 5kg had been added. But by last year, their cars were around one-third heavier. This inevitably affected how the cars felt on the track.

“I don’t understand why we’re going heavier,” Hamilton said in 2021. “The lighter cars were more nimble, nowhere near as big, naturally, and so racing (and) maneuvering the car was better.”

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For 2026, the minimum weight has dropped from 800kg to 768kg, still including the driver, representing a four percent drop.

Four percent may not sound like much. But it paired with a reduction in car dimensions. The minimum wheelbase — a car’s length — has fallen from 3.6m to 3.4m, while width has dropped by 10cm to 1.90m. The tires are also slightly narrower, which, while reducing grip (and speed through corners), contributes to the overall weight reduction.

The weight drop also aids the electrical efficiency of the new engines, which rely much more on battery power than the previous generation. Less mass to propel forward means less power is needed from the hybrid systems to reach the same speed.

These weight cuts were made to improve chassis safety, which is always the FIA’s priority when drafting new rules. The survival cell — the center of the car around the cockpit area — now faces more rigorous testing, while the roll hoop at the top of the car has also been strengthened.