Evolution of F1 car weight

[JethroJet]

They could be slimmed down if the payload is less. Shorter car and a lighter power unit also requires less crumple-mass to pass the crash tests.

Power unit mass has gone up 5kg since 2016.

Car mass has gone up from 702kg to 798kg.

Interesting.
But how much did it grow when all the batteries and electric motors were added? (2014)

KERs added 35kg for the entire system and they gained 400KJ per lap of energy deployment.
The new batteries are controlled by the rules to be 20-25kg, given that current ERS has two motors, id guess that all up the larger battery and additional motor only adds another 35kg.

[JordanMugen]

The chassis walls are made thicker for safety so that adds tomost of the weight.

They could be slimmed down if the payload is less. Shorter car and a lighter power unit also requires less crumple-mass to pass the crash tests.

I'm not sure this is true. F1 tub crashworthiness was far below Indycar level previously as F1 previously used much lighter tubs than Indycar. [Obviously Indycars being designed for 220mph / 340kph superspeedway crashes.]

Now in 2022 however, they are probably at about the same level with an extra 20kg of crash worthiness requirements for the monocoque in the 2022 regulations alone compared to 2021. How can you maintain Indycar-level crashworthiness with a 60kg tub (like F1 in 2005) or a 100kg tub (like F1 in 2014) instead of a more robust ~150kg tub (like in F1 2022, including the 20kg halo & larger minimum cockpit dimensions for taller drivers)?

Surely it is impossible for the lightweight monocoque to be equally safe for the driver?!

Really you want the robustness of the monocoque to be independent of the engine size. It is not acceptable to fit a weaker & less indestructible monocoque around the driver, just because it is a less powerful class of vehicle (e.g., Indy Lights use the same tub as the Indycar, despite being smaller and lighter vehicles with less power).

[JordanMugen]

Car mass has gone up from 702kg to 798kg.

Interesting.
But how much did it grow when all the batteries and electric motors were added? (2014)

I'll have to correct Wuzak, it was actually 691kg minimum weight in 2014, compared to 642kg in 2013 with V8 engines. So a difference of 42kg "when all the batteries and electric motors were added". The minimum weight was then increased by a further 11kg to 702kg in 2015, presumably as the miscellaneous intercoolers etc weighed more than expected.

The monocoque weight was about 100kg in 2014, since then we have gained the halo (+20kg), intermediate crash testing increases (+10-20kg), and a major increase in crash test severity and minimum cockpit size for 2022 (+20kg). The driver weight allowance was also increased by 5kg from 75kg to 80kg.

The larger cars in 2017 saw a minimum weight increase of 26kg, 5kg of which being due to the wider tyres and 21kg to miscellaneous (bodywork etc, possibly crashworthiness increase too). In 2022, we obviously have an additional 18kg for the 18" wheels, 1kg for the wheel covers and 1kg for the wheel fairings.

[mzso]

I'm not sure this is true.

It can only be true. If you decrease the weight of other components the crash structures need to absorb less energy.
Though seeing all the things people listed it probably wouldn't be a significant amount of weight.

It is not acceptable to fit a weaker & less indestructible monocoque around the driver, just because it is a less powerful class of vehicle

Really? Because it seems rather universal to me that crash protection is based on the performance of the car.

Surely it is impossible for the lightweight monocoque to be equally safe for the driver?!

Since you bring it up. There's probably a lot of weight that can be saved with more exotic materials. Something like nanotube based composites. Though I don't think even F1 would be willing to spend that much money.

[vorticism]