The Australian suggests cars need to shed 50 kilograms for a noticeable difference.
Piastri speaking during a press conference.
The current generation of Formula 1 cars remains under scrutiny. Despite the FIA’s efforts to reduce vehicle mass, drivers remain skeptical. While cars have shed roughly 30 kilograms compared to the previous season, the sensation behind the wheel remains heavy, making the cars feel extremely slow.
**An Insufficient Diet**
For Nico Hulkenberg, the change is virtually imperceptible. The German Haas driver, known for his honesty in the paddock, didn’t mince words: “To be honest, it’s 30 kilos. I don’t know if you really notice it.” Although the new chassis proportions offer a slightly different response, it isn’t perceived as a real evolutionary leap. Agility only timidly appears in the slowest corners, and even then, it depends more on engineers’ ingenuity in aerodynamic design than on the scales.
**The Goal: Below 700 Kilograms**
Where Hulkenberg is cautious, Oscar Piastri is emphatic. The young McLaren talent considers the current reduction a “drop in the ocean.” For the Australian, if the essence of the top category is to be restored, the surgery must be much deeper: “To really notice a big difference, it would probably have to be more than 50 kilos, more like close to 100,” he states firmly. Piastri looks nostalgically at the past, specifically at 2008, when the minimum weight was around 605 kilograms. Returning to that standard would bring back the “fighter jet” feeling that F1 has lost with the bulkiness of the hybrid era.
**The Hybrid Technology Barrier**
However, the dream of returning to light cars clashes with an insurmountable technical reality: electrification. “We will never return to the 500-kilogram ranges,” admits Piastri. The ballast is not a designer’s whim but a direct consequence of the current complex power units. Heavy batteries and energy recovery systems (ERS) are responsible for making modern F1 cars genuine tanks compared to their predecessors.
**The Hybrid Era Weighs Heavy**
The problem is not superficial but structural. The hybrid era has brought efficiency and sustainability, but at an obvious physical cost. The current power units, true engineering marvels combining combustion and complex electrical systems, have turned F1 cars into the heaviest in history. Oscar Piastri has been blunt on this point, directly pointing to the engine as the key to savings: “If the power units were simpler, you could save quite a bit of weight.” This statement hits a sensitive nerve in the paddock, as simplifying engines would mean renouncing the cutting-edge technology that defines modern F1.