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The 2022 F1 cars are set to be the heaviest ever, as per reports. Cars now need to weigh a minimum of 795 kg, which is more than 40 kg heavier than the 2021 cars. This is the mandated weight of 2022 cars before fuel, which adds another 110 kg during race conditions.
FIA routinely updates the minimum weight requirements for the upcoming season. The original plan was to set the minimum weight at 775 kg, but a further 20 kg were added later.
Next year's cars will be 43 kg heavier than current-gen cars which have the same engine outputs. This will be the largest weight rise in the sport since the V6 hybrid turbo power unit was introduced in 2014 when the weights rose by 48 kg.
In the period from 2009 to 2019, car weight has increased by a staggering 138 kg. Also to be noted is the fact that cars are now required to finish the race distance without refueling, which was standard in the older generation of F1.
Lewis Hamilton once commented on the general increase in car weights, saying that making cars heavier doesn't align with the sport's vision of making racing sustainable. The Mercedes world champion said:
“I don’t understand particularly why we go heavier when there’s all this talk about being more sustainable, the sport going in that direction. By going heavier and heavier and heavier you’re using more and more energy, so that feels that’s not necessarily in the right direction or the thought process. The lighter cars were more nimble, were nowhere near as big, and so racing, maneuvering the car was better.”
It remains to be seen whether the added weights will affect lap times around the track.
2022 F1 cars promise better aerodynamics and closer racing
The new generation of F1 set to be revealed ahead of the 2022 season will feature better aerodynamics, to reportedly enable closer racing. The FIA says that current cars i.e., from 2021, lose about 35% of their downforce when they are around three car lengths behind another car. This loss percentage increases to almost 50% when about a car length behind. The proposed 2022 regulation changes promise to reduce these numbers to 4% and 18% respectively due to a redesign of the aerodynamics.
With this in effect, drivers will be able to follow each other very closely due to the lack of decreasing downforce, allowing for more overtakes.
While it is unclear how the new cars will behave, former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas claims they feel "roughly the same" when driven in a simulator. He said:
“But the overall feeling, at least from the sim, wasn’t that different. We can’t simulate other cars chasing on the track and things like that, but it’s not much different. Maybe they have a little less downforce, but like I said, that will change.”
All teams, including Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari, will be hoping the new cars suit the driving styles of their respective drivers.
