The SUV craze seems to have been firmly established in Formula 1, as in 2022 the premier class will be contested with gigantic and heavy single-seaters that the drivers will have to tame with effort and determination.
It is not necessary to be up to date with the automotive market to know that SUV they are in fashion and they do not intend to stop being so in the short or medium term. More and more vehicles “Crossoverized” present in cities and highways as manufacturers continue to announce the cessation of production of once successful family cars and minivans.
But in this article we do not intend to talk about the heavy and bulky “all roads”, but about the Formula 1, a category in which single-seaters are getting bigger and heavier. And in 2022, with the arrival of the new regulation, that trend will not stop, which allows us to take the license to call the cars of this new era as the SUVs of F1.
A trend that comes from afar
Analogies aside, the truth is that Formula 1 intends to fix this year some of the problems that have plagued the premier class for so long.
For this, it implements as a great novelty a new regulation that seeks to create a car much less sensitive to aerodynamic turbulence and, therefore, more capable of making the drivers can fight wheel to wheel without losing performance. In other words: a car capable of generating more overtaking opportunities.
However, neither the FIA nor Formula 1 have addressed one of the most obvious shortcomings of recent years: the weight and size of the cars. During the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso astonished everyone with a few knife laps on the back of the legendary Renault R25, a car that looked like a toy compared to the Renault RS20.
Not surprisingly, the car with which the Asturian was proclaimed champion measured 4.8 meters long by 1.8 meters wide, while last year’s Renault reached up to 5.7 meters long by 2 meters wide.
Throughout these 15 years, cars have grown in weight and volume in a way that even complicates certain maneuvers on some circuits, in addition to frustrating the drivers, who must drive very fast cars, but also lazy in reactions.
This is how Formula 1 has grown
The 1961 season was the first in which a minimum weight was imposed on single-seaters and, since then, it has grown exponentially to reach the current figure of 790 kg.
Much of the blame for this trend has been the different security systems implemented in cars, but also larger wheels, more powerful engines, electronics or energy recovery systems that require batteries and other very heavy devices.
Chronological evolution of the minimum weight in Formula 1
- 1961: minimum weight of 450 kg.
- 1966: minimum weight of 500 kg. (safety arch over pilot’s head, fire extinguisher system)
- 1970: minimum weight of 530 kg. (safety fuel tank)
- 1972: minimum weight of 550 kg. (headrest, minimum cockpit dimensions, six-point harness)
- 1973: minimum weight of 570 kg (deformable structure next to fuel tank)
- 1980: minimum weight of 575 kg.
- 1981: minimum weight of 585 kg. (extension of the survival cell to beyond the pilot’s feet)
- 1982: minimum weight of 580 kg.
- 1983: minimum weight of 540 kg. (ground effect prohibited)
- 1987: minimum weight of 500 kg. (limitation of turbo pressure to 4 bar)
- 1988: minimum weight of 540 kg. (turbo pressure limitation to 2.5 bar, maximum 150 liters of fuel per stroke, mandatory crash test for chassis and fuel tank)
- nineteen ninety five: minimum weight of 595 kg.
- 2004: minimum weight of 605 kg., including pilot and fuel (one engine for the whole weekend, automatic transmissions prohibited)
- 2013: minimum weight of 642 kg.
- 2014: minimum weight of 691 kg. (V6 turbo hybrid engines)
- 2015.: minimum weight of 702 kg.
- 2017: Minimum weight of 728 kg. (wider cars, spoilers and tires)
- 2018: minimum weight of 734 kg. (Halo)
- 2019: minimum weight of 743 kg. (minimum weight of the pilot / seat assembly of 80 kg., lights in rear spoiler, new spoilers)
- 2020: minimum weight of 746 kg.
- 2021: minimum weight of 768 kg. (heavier standardized parts)
- 2022: minimum weight of 790 kg. (full regulatory change, bigger wheels, more standardized parts).
Facing successive seasons, the drivers have asked Formula 1 to tackle the weight problem once and for all, although the aforementioned safety systems and technological innovations will not make it easy. In any case, Ross brawn, a sporting director and category manager, is committed to doing something about it.
“We believe that with the agreed specifications for 2026 there will be a very real possibility of having a more compact car. As you know, we are preparing a new power unit for 2026, and a new car will come with it, “said Ross Brawn about it.
‘Can we save weight, which is a challenge with a hybrid car and with the safety initiatives that we have in cars these days; Can we have a lighter car? We can certainly have a smaller car, we think we can ».
Will he succeed and will we see those light and agile cars of yesteryear again, or will we continue to witness the fast but huge Formula 1 SUVs for a while longer?