FIA won't lower minimum weight for 2023 after all

FIA will not lower minimum weight of 2023 cars Motorsport.com reports that despite the wishes of several teams, the minimum weight will remain at the same level as in 2022.

The minimum weight of the 2022 cars was 798 kilograms. The plan was to lower that limit by two kilograms for 2023, a plan announced early in the season. Soon the FIA backtracked on that however, but due to a combination of administrative errors and resistance from the teams, that decision was never reversed. So the new regulations adopted in December set the minimum weight for the 2023 cars at 796 kilos.

Teams hoped for advantage with new rule

Initially, the FIA wanted to submit the new lower limit to the teams for a vote. But apparently several teams thought they could gain an advantage from the new rule, as the FIA did not get the support it had hoped for. Nevertheless, the FIA has now added a new section to the code stipulating that the weight will not change next season. The organisation was able to do so because of a detail in the rules.

The first reveals of the cars already show that teams are thinking creatively around weight savings. For example, Alfa Romeo is said to have simply not painted part of the car to save weight.