798 kg1,760 lb
A Formula 1 car must weigh at least 798 kg (1,759 lb), the minimum set by the FIA rules from 2022 to 2024. That figure counts the driver and the tyres but not the fuel. The limit rose to 800 kg in 2025, and the new 2026 cars are lighter, at about 768 kg (1,693 lb).
| 2025 car on the grid, full tankThe 800 kg limit plus up to 110 kg of fuel | 910 kg2,010 lb |
|---|---|
| 2025 minimumDriver allowance raised from 80 to 82 kg | 800 kg1,760 lb |
| 2022 to 2024 minimumGround effect cars on 18-inch wheels | 798 kg1,760 lb |
| 2026 minimum724 kg plus about 44 kg of tyres, 2 kg more in qualifying | 768 kg1,690 lb |
| 2021 minimumThe last year of the previous rules | 752 kg1,660 lb |
| 2005 minimumV10 engines, no hybrid system | 605 kg1,330 lb |
F1 does not have a fixed weight, it has a minimum. From 2022 to 2024, Article 4.1 of the FIA Technical Regulations said the car, without fuel, must never weigh less than 798 kg at any point of a race weekend. That includes the driver in full racing kit and a set of dry-weather tyres. The limit was first set at 795 kg for 2022 and raised by 3 kg just before the season because teams were struggling to get down to it.
Teams try to build the car lighter than the limit and then add ballast: dense metal blocks bolted to the car and sealed by the FIA. Because the ballast can go wherever the engineers want, it is used to fine-tune the balance between the front and rear axles. Being over the limit is slow, not illegal: team bosses put the cost at roughly 0.3 to 0.35 seconds a lap for every 10 kg.
Since 1995 the minimum has counted the driver too, which used to favour light drivers. Since 2019 the driver, seat and kit are counted as at least 80 kg, and anyone lighter carries ballast in the cockpit to make up the difference. For 2025 that allowance went up to 82 kg, which is why the overall limit rose to 800 kg.
In 2005 the minimum was 605 kg. The big jump came with the hybrid V6 turbo engines in 2014, when the limit went to 690 kg: the power unit carries electric motor generators and a battery, and its own minimum weight is 150 kg. The refuelling ban from 2010 also meant bigger fuel tanks, and the halo head protection added about 7 kg from 2018.
The 2022 rules added another 46 kg in one go, from 752 to 798 kg. The new cars had 18-inch wheels and heavier tyres, stronger crash structures and more standard parts that teams could not slim down. Some teams even left parts of the bodywork as bare carbon fibre to save the weight of the paint.
The FIA brings its own calibrated scales to every race. During practice and qualifying, cars are called in at random to be weighed with the driver on board, and they are weighed again after the race, with the remaining fuel drained. In 2018 Sebastian Vettel was fined 25,000 euros after driving off the scales during a random check in qualifying in Brazil, damaging them.
Being underweight costs the result. At the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix, George Russell crossed the line first on a one-stop strategy, but his Mercedes weighed 796.5 kg afterwards, 1.5 kg under the limit. He was disqualified and his team-mate Lewis Hamilton was given the win.
New rules in 2026 cut the minimum for the first time in years. It is now written as 724 kg plus the average weight of a set of Pirelli dry tyres, which works out at about 768 kg, 32 kg less than in 2025. The cars are smaller, with a wheelbase 200 mm shorter at 3.4 m, a floor 100 mm narrower and narrower tyres, and the MGU-H has gone from the engine.
The target was hard to hit because the new power units get about half their power from electricity, which needs a bigger battery. Before the season, team bosses expected most cars to start out over the limit.
The minimum was 798 kg, or about 1,759 lb, from 2022 to 2024. It was 800 kg (1,764 lb) in 2025, and it is about 768 kg (1,693 lb) under the 2026 rules.
Yes. The minimum counts the car with the driver in full racing kit, but no fuel. The driver, seat and kit must add up to at least 82 kg (80 kg before 2025), so lighter drivers carry ballast.
From 2022 to 2025 a car could start a race with up to 110 kg of fuel, so a car at the minimum weighed about 908 kg (about 2,000 lb) on the grid, or 910 kg in 2025. It gets lighter as the fuel burns off.
It is disqualified. George Russell lost his win at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix because his car weighed 796.5 kg after the race, 1.5 kg below the 798 kg minimum.
Yes. The 2026 minimum is about 768 kg (724 kg plus the tyres), 32 kg lighter than 2025, thanks to smaller cars and narrower tyres. It is still far heavier than the 605 kg cars of 2005.
Last checked October 2, 2026.
