When it came to the cars themselves: “I would make them a lot lighter. I think it brings a lot of joy. By definition, if the cars are lighter we’ll have less problems with tyres. It will be more physical, more exhausting and more exciting.”
Amen to that. The first GP I attended was Silverstone ’77. It was exciting to stand next to Niki Lauda’s Ferrari 312T2 in the paddock. After only seeing F1 cars on TV, I couldn’t believe how small it was! Apparently, it weighed 575kg.
Today’s F1 weight limit is 792kg and, with a full tank of fuel, they start a race at around 900kg. Talking to Christian Horner over the weekend, he explained that such was the rush Red Bull had to transition onto the 2022 car after fighting to the wire in ’21, that the RB18 was 20kgs overweight in Bahrain. Not surprising that Max Verstappen, who hates understeer with a passion, was not exactly delighted…
When Max won his 15th 2022 race after stroking along on his gentle one-stopper at Yas Marina, he didn’t seem to be bursting with excitement.
“It was all about tyre management,” he explained. “I think we looked after the mediums quite well. And then on the hard tyres it was literally managing from lap one to the end.” Great.
I’m not blaming Max, he’s never anything but unfailingly honest, but is that what a fan wants to hear? Any more than it’s a car that a racing driver wants to race?
Look at the key race points. Checo Perez suffered graining with his right front mediums in the opening stint, forcing him into an early lap 15 pit stop as Leclerc threatened within undercut range. But why did the tyres grain? Perez wasn’t racing anyone, Charles Leclerc in a slower Ferrari apart.