FIA President joins calls to tackle increasing F1 issue

The President of the FIA has backed the call for lighter Formula 1 cars in a bid to improve the spectacle and safety.

The weight of Formula 1 cars has increased sharply over the last 20 years, with the current generation of Formula 1 cars made to a minimum weight of 798 kilograms.

The introduction of the heavier hybrid power units in 2014 brought a jump in car weight, and the advances in safety and technology since then have also resulted in heavier cars.

F1 cars have also become longer and wider, partly to facilitate the complex technology, which becomes more noticeable at circuits where overtaking is difficult, such as Monaco.

The size and weight of F1 cars is often cited as an area for improvement, with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem now agreeing that it is an area of concern.

“One thing I would like to see is very clear: we need a lighter car," Ben Sulayem told Motorsport.com.

“I believe this is better. I come from motorsport, where lighter cars are safer and they won’t use the same amount of fuel.

“It will be hard to achieve, but everybody wants it. So I am pushing because I come from rallying, where nothing is worse than having a heavy car.”

Drivers call for lighter cars

Ben Sulayem's comments echo the sentiments from many of the sport's drivers, including Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

Formula 1's efforts to improve overtaking resulted in the introduction of the current ground effect technical regulations.

However, questions were raised about the success of the regulations at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, following a Grand Prix with fewer overtakes than usual.

When asked about following other Formula 1 cars, Red Bull's Max Verstappen pointed to the weight issues of the current cars: "I think because of the weight of the cars we have nowadays, they're quite heavy.

"In the low-speed [corners] it's a bit harder to follow, because as soon as you have a tiny moment with that weight it becomes a bigger slide, it's harder on the tyres, so you overheat the tyres more."