Formula 1 is targeting another major reduction in car weight for 2031, with the FIA aiming to make future single-seaters around 80kg lighter than the current generation. If achieved, the plan could bring F1 machinery back below the 700kg mark as the championship continues its shift towards smaller and more agile cars.
The proposed direction would represent another substantial step beyond the changes already introduced for 2026. While much of the debate over Formula 1’s longer-term technical future has focused on possible V8 engines and a reduced electrical contribution, the FIA is also looking closely at the dimensions and mass of the cars themselves.
FIA targets sub-700kg F1 cars for 2031
Weight became one of the defining concerns of the previous ground-effect generation, with cars reaching 798kg. Formula 1 responded through the 2026 technical regulations, cutting the figure to 768kg while also reducing the overall dimensions of the cars. The change represented a 30kg reduction, but the governing body’s longer-term ambition goes considerably further.
FIA technical director Nikolas Tombazis indicated that the next objective is to remove approximately another 80kg while potentially making future cars slightly shorter and smaller as well. Such a reduction from the current 2026 figure would take the minimum weight below 700kg, representing a significant change in Formula 1’s design philosophy.
The importance of mass has already been a major theme under the new regulations, with teams having to balance performance, safety and packaging while working towards the lower minimum weight of the 2026 F1 cars. The longer-term proposal suggests the FIA does not consider the latest reduction to be the final destination.
Drivers have welcomed lighter and smaller 2026 cars
The aerodynamic and dimensional changes introduced in 2026 have sometimes attracted less attention than the new-generation power units, but Tombazis highlighted the response from the drivers as an encouraging sign. He explained that the cars are now somewhat lighter and smaller, changes that drivers have appreciated.
That reaction provides an important reference point for the FIA as it considers what should follow the current regulatory cycle. The new generation of Formula 1 cars already represents a move away from the increasingly large machines seen during the previous era, but the 2031 target would push that philosophy much further.
Tombazis outlined an ambition to achieve another major step in lightness and overall vehicle mass rather than treating the 2026 reduction as sufficient. He also suggested there was no reason to view a further decrease negatively, with the governing body instead seeking meaningful progress towards lighter machinery in the future.
Formula 1 reverses its long-term weight trend
For many years, successive technical regulation changes generally resulted in Formula 1 cars becoming heavier and larger. The arrival of hybrid systems, increasingly complex safety structures and other developments contributed to that progression, eventually producing cars approaching the 800kg threshold.
The latest regulations have reversed that direction. Tombazis believes the 2026 generation could represent the first occasion since around 2000, or perhaps even earlier, in which Formula 1 cars have actually become lighter from one regulatory era to the next.
That philosophy also forms part of the broader attempt to make the cars more compact and responsive. Early impressions of the shorter, narrower and lighter 2026 cars have already placed their greater agility among the characteristics attracting attention.
2031 plans extend beyond possible engine changes
The weight target is only one part of the discussions surrounding Formula 1’s next major technical direction. In recent months, the possibility of V8 engines has also emerged as part of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s ambitions, with proposals centred on reducing much of the electrical element while using increasingly sustainable biofuels.
Those engine discussions have attracted significant attention, but the FIA’s intentions for the chassis show that any future revolution would not necessarily be confined to the power unit. A car around 80kg lighter, potentially shorter and smaller again, would represent another substantial departure from the machines that defined Formula 1’s recent ground-effect era.
The 2026 regulations have therefore become a first step rather than an endpoint in the push towards reducing size and weight. If the FIA can eventually deliver its 2031 objective, Formula 1 could return to sub-700kg cars while continuing the broader movement towards machinery designed to be lighter and more agile.
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