Article by David Istrate – Published Sunday, January 25, 2026, 7:05 p.m. / Updated Sunday, January 25, 2026, 7:10 p.m.
The FIA is not giving in to the demands of Formula 1 team officials, who want a higher minimum weight for single-seaters. From the season starting this year, the minimum weight for single-seaters has been reduced by 30 kilograms, and an FIA executive claims that Formula 1 single-seaters must “go on a diet”.
The 2026 Formula 1 season is a historic one, not only because 11 teams will compete, but also because there are several changes related to single-seaters. One of them considers the minimum weight of single-seaters, which was reduced by 30 kilograms, reaching 768 kilograms without fuel.
The FIA remains firm on its positions: “We were categorical that we would not change the weight at the request of the teams”
Although, in the last 15 years, the minimum weight has increased by 180 kilograms, Formula 1 team officials are unhappy with the FIA's decision and believe many teams will fail to meet the new limit.
The FIA does not want to give in, and Nicholas Tombazis, the director in charge of single-seaters, argued this during the Autosport Business Exchange event in London.
We would like to put Formula 1 on the diet. We are currently moving from obesity to overweight and need to make more efforts for the future. We were adamant that we would not change the weight at the request of the teams. We think it's like a diet – it takes discipline and some pressure to get results.
What has been happening in previous cycles of regulation changes is that teams design systems that naturally improve performance. These are not essential to the operation of the car, they just make it a little better. There are many such systems. If you look at a Formula 1 car, you will see a huge abundance of such devices or designs that make the modern car about 50 times more complex than the one of 20 years ago.
A lot of these systems come into the car and then the teams say, “Well, our car is five kilos heavier, shouldn't we increase the weight?” In the past, we were more flexible and tried to conform. This year I said: “No, this is the limit, you have to work at it”. And for all we know, there are teams that are a bit underweight, so it's entirely doable.
Teams must be very careful when designing a particular system. They have to say to themselves, “This system will get us X lap time, but it will weigh a pound and a half more – is it worth it?” It is necessary to make this decision more consciously.
Over the past 20 years or so, weight has increased, mainly due to a combination of factors. One is safety – cars are much safer of course and we would certainly never compromise on that
– Nicholas Tombazis, FIA directorquoted by sportal.bg
