CAN F1 TURN BACK FROM ITS HEAVYWEIGHT PATH?

I once read that aeroplanes are like people, they get fatter and bigger with time. And you could say the same about racing cars.

This year’s Formula 1 cars are the heaviest ever at 798kg, which is a big increase on when I raced in F1 12 years ago.

Back then, the Virgin VR-01 was 620kg including the driver and even lighter before that. Now, several teams are still working to get down to that minimum weight limit. This trend has everything to do with how the technical regulations have been written by the motorsport governing body.

It’s not a natural route to go bigger and heavier as F1 has done. If it was left free for F1 teams to choose, I’m sure they would go for a lighter car with the most power dense engines available, contrary to what