FIA president outlines major plan for radical F1 car changes

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has outlined his plan for a radical shake-up to the look of F1 cars - including a sizeable weight reduction. 

F1 cars currently weigh 768kg, but Ben Sulayem has detailed his idea for grand prix cars to weigh as little as 630kg, with his idea to achieve this to go back to a simple V8 engine and ditch the heavy turbo units. 

It is not just the power units that have allowed the weight of F1 cars to balloon in recent years, with safety advances, such as the halo and reinforced crash structures, increasing the weight, but the FIA chief believes it is still possible for F1 cars to shed some of the gained weight, although this would require a huge engineering challenge for the teams.

Outlining his plans, Ben Sulayem put fans at the heart of his blueprint. 

"What is the worst thing in the cars now?" Ben Sulayem posed in an interview with French broadcaster Canal+.

"Complexity, more money, expenses, and also a big car. A big and heavy car means what? It means it is not safe.

"We added 50 kilograms because of the safety. But now I would like to see a car, a total, complete car for less than 650 kilograms. My target is 630.

"The V8 has to come, you have the power from the ICE engine of maybe 760 horsepower with 10% in it of electrification. That would give it the sound. It would be much cheaper. And R&D, research and development, would be much cheaper.

"As an engine alone, it would be much lighter, enjoyable, and the sound will come for the spectators, and you run it on sustainable fuels. 

"I can't see where we will get it wrong. The fans [will] have something that we have to give [them] to."