Myth debunked again: here's the truth about Red Bull's RB22 weight

The trigger for the stories was a series of photos circulating on social media. These were taken by VIPs during the race weekend in Shanghai while the Formula 1 cars were being weighed. In one of the photos, the number 716.5 could be seen next to Isack Hadjar’s car. Next to Lando Norris’ car, for instance, the number 697.5 was shown.

Many concluded from this that the RB22 of Hadjar and Verstappen was about 20 kilograms overweight. Every extra kilo is ballast and costs time, tenths of a second per lap. Some people believed this explained why Red Bull had, so far, been losing out to Mercedes and Ferrari.

GPblog explained after the photos appeared that the conclusions drawn were nonsense. Now that the car’s weight has become a topic again in various media, this site further clarifies what was going on.

The FIA has set a minimum weight not only for a car but also for a driver. Isack Hadjar is about 8 kilos under that. In China, Red Bull had already added that weight as ballast to the car, even though the Frenchman was not in the car at the time, GPblog understands. To measure the exact weight of the RB22, the FIA therefore had to subtract those extra kilos from the total afterward.

Indeed, the conclusion is that Verstappen’s car is too heavy, because the minimum weight of driver, car, and fluids combined is exactly 798 kilograms in 2026. So Red Bull has work to do to slim down the car in the coming period.

Work is currently underway in Milton Keynes on lighter components, which will be introduced as soon as possible. It is unknown when the RB22 will reach its target weight; the Austrians will likely get there in stages.