Red Bull Racing and Ferrari allies in battle against heavier cars

On Wednesday morning it was announced that Formula 1 is likely to agree to further increase the minimum weight of F1 cars in the coming years. It is a subject that is complained about a lot, especially by drivers, because it makes the cars drive less lively, but that is not the reason that these teams are against it.

Modern Formula 1 cars suffer from obesity, which is the position most drivers take. Not so long ago (20 years ago) an F1 car of 550kg (excluding driver) was still the standard. In recent years many kilos have been added by hybrid engines and according to Motorsport.com they now want to add another three kilos for 2021. This brings the total weight to 749kg.

The reason for this would be cost savings. In the search for as light a car as possible, one usually spends a lot of money to save kilos with certain materials or designs. If those limits are set less sharply, that diet is also less necessary.

Ballast creates uneven playing field

However, disagreement arises over the implementation of this additional weight. According to the new guidelines, teams are still allowed to build a car that is below this minimum weight. The extra kilos are then added by means of ballast. Because you can play with the location of this ballast, you can change the balance of the car.

That wouldn't be a problem if all current cars weigh the same, but that's not the case. Red Bull and Ferrari are probably already below the current minimum weight and would no longer benefit from that ballast arrangement with an increase.

So Red Bull Racing and Ferrari were reportedly strongly against it, but they weren't the only ones. Haas, AlphaTauri and Williams also voted against, so the voting round ended in a tie. As a result, it is still uncertain whether the minimum weight will indeed be raised.