"Slimming down is not possible overnight" - F1 teams resort to scraping paint off their overweight cars

F1 teams have been increasingly resorting to removing paint from their 2022 cars to stay within the minimum weight limit, as the budget cap forced a “cultural change” in the developmental race.

While the minimum weight limit was raised by nearly 100 kilograms for the current season compared to last year, teams across the grid have struggled to keep their cars under the limit. According to Auto Motor und Sport, most teams have now been scrubbing off “excess paint” from their liveries to achieve whatever weight savings they can.

Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren are all said to have the heaviest cars on the grid, while Alfa Romeo and Haas cars are thought to be on the lighter side. For the first time in F1 history, however, no car on the grid is reportedly under the minimum weight.

Red Bull special advisor Helmut Marko believes, his team will need to reduce the RB18’s weight to stay in the title fight but does not expect it to happen anytime soon. Speaking to Autosport following the Saudi Arabian GP, he said:

“You certainly won’t be able to drive at the front of the field this season if you’re overweight. We can’t lose weight overnight, but only step by step. It will take longer for us to reach the limit.”

Weight saving is thought to be an extremely important part of the 2022 developmental race. Teams that can manage to reduce the weight of their cars could potentially unlock several tenths a lap worth of performance. This could, therefore, play a huge role in the championship battle between Ferrari and Red Bull as well.

Previously, teams built their cars well within the minimum weight requirements, while later adding ballast or additional weight to meet the requirements. That, however, doesn’t seem to be the case this season.

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F1 cost cap limiting teams' ability to find weight savings

The spending restrictions imposed by F1’s cost cap have severely limited the ability of teams, especially the ones at the front, to solve the weight issues. According to Helmut Marko, solving the weight issues will be a “tricky affair”. Speaking to Formule1, he said:

“It’s much more difficult to get off the weight because of the cost cap. You have to calculate more precisely where technical progress, where weight reduction and reliability [can be found], i.e. these three components, and then you have to find the right compromise.”

Both Red Bull and Ferrari have upgrades planned for the next few races and are expected to make some weight savings. Meanwhile, Mercedes currently have their hands full while trying to solve their porpoising problems, and might take much longer to get their car within the weight limit.