With almost all cars too heavy at the start of the season, the hunt for kilos has become crucial in F1. McLaren and Red Bull have adopted two very different philosophies.
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Weight reduction has become one of the major technical challenges of the 2026 Formula 1 season. The new regulations have presented engineers with a particularly complex equation: integrating a much larger electrical component while building significantly lighter cars.
The minimum regulatory weight has thus dropped from 798 kg in 2025 to 768 kg this season, a decrease of 30 kg. A particularly ambitious goal since the new generation of power units places greater emphasis on electrical systems and batteries.
At the start of the championship, practically no team had managed to reach this limit. McLaren was nevertheless among those closest to it thanks to a particularly radical choice made from the design of the MCL40.
McLaren bets on a particularly short car
To reduce the weight of its car, McLaren notably decided to work on its wheelbase.
The 2026 regulations impose a maximum length of 3,400 mm between axles, compared to 3,600 mm last season. But the Woking team went much further by designing an MCL40 with a wheelbase of only about 3,250 mm.
This represents about 150 mm less than the average of its main rivals.
This choice has an obvious advantage. A more compact car requires less material for its structure and therefore naturally reduces its weight.
But this philosophy is not without consequences.
The price to pay aerodynamically
The difficulties encountered by McLaren at the start of the season notably illustrated the limits of such a compact car.
The MCL40 proved tricky to balance and initially generated less downforce than some of its rivals. The reduction in wheelbase also means that the available aerodynamic surfaces are smaller.
This concerns the visible bodywork elements, but especially the underside of the car, where the surface available to generate aerodynamic load is reduced.
McLaren therefore obtained a lighter car but simultaneously imposed additional constraints on developing its aerodynamics.
The challenge now is to find more downforce without compromising the overall balance of a particularly compact concept.
Red Bull favors a progressive approach
The majority of teams have chosen a less radical strategy. Rather than drastically reducing the dimensions of their car, they seek to save weight on a multitude of components.
Engineers can notably review the design of certain parts to reduce their volume while maintaining exactly the same levels of strength and reliability.
A few grams saved on dozens or even hundreds of parts can thus end up representing several kilos on the entire car.
Hubs, upright mounts, and various mechanical components are particularly concerned, as well as many parts made from composite materials.
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In this area, Red Bull is among the teams that have adopted the most systematic approach since the start of the season.
The RB22 also evolves to lose weight
The many developments brought to the RB22 were not only designed to increase downforce or improve aerodynamic efficiency.
Red Bull has simultaneously sought to progressively lighten its car by reworking several components throughout the Grands Prix.
This strategy, however, requires a lot of time. A lightened part must retain the same mechanical properties and withstand the extreme stresses imposed by a Formula 1 car.
Each new component must therefore go through an extensive validation program before it can be used in races.
It is not enough to remove material: engineers must precisely determine where a few grams can be removed without compromising stiffness, strength, or reliability.
Light materials, but limited possibilities
Historically, magnesium was an interesting solution for certain mechanical components due to its very low density.
Its use has however been banned because of its flammability.
Teams must therefore now mainly rely on optimizing component geometry and increasingly precise use of composite materials.
This approach is less spectacular than a significant reduction in wheelbase, but it allows engineers to retain more freedom in the overall design of the car.
Ten kilos can represent several tenths
The considerable efforts made by teams are explained by the direct influence of weight on performance.
A reduction of ten kilograms can represent a gain of about three to four tenths of a second per lap, although the exact impact varies greatly depending on the characteristics of the circuit.
On a grid where gaps between several teams are sometimes measured in hundredths, the stakes are therefore considerable.
McLaren and Red Bull thus illustrate two different philosophies facing the same problem. The first chose to integrate the weight hunt directly into the architecture of its car with a very short wheelbase, even if it means accepting certain aerodynamic constraints.
Red Bull favored a more progressive method, reworking its components throughout the season to gradually bring the RB22 closer to the minimum weight.
Two opposing strategies whose effectiveness could weigh heavily in the hierarchy of the second half of the championship.
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