F1 chiefs have been clear for a while now that one must-do element of new rules for 2026 is dropping car weight.
While work continues on the all-new active aerodynamics that will be needed to complement the latest generation of F1 turbo hybrid engines, an over-arching desire to change the trend for ever-heavier cars has emerged.
Speaking to Motorsport.com last month, the FIA’s head of single seaters Nikolas Tombazis pointed out that a 50kg reduction target had been set – which would include a change to F1 wheel size.
"With the dimensions of the wheels, which will be narrower, plus with the rear wing and the car in general, we aim to reduce the weight of the cars by around 50kg," he said.
"So, it will be possible to see smaller single-seater cars: shorter and narrower. But we are talking about solutions that still need to be discussed.
"With the car on a diet, we will be able to reduce the cornering speeds a bit. Being lighter, they will go faster in a straight line, but will generate less aerodynamic load. So, we will need to increase the hybrid's energy recovery to ensure adequate lap performance."
Digging deeper into his words, it is possible to get a rough idea of the vision for the F1 2026 generation of cars.
There is talk of the wheelbase being trimmed back by 20cm (from 3600mm to 3400mm), with the width being reduced by 10cm (from 2000mm to 1900mm). This would still be wider than the narrow cars of 2016 which were just 1800mm wide.
But the discussions around wheel size being narrower is intriguing , because tyres being reduced from their current width (the front slick is 305mm wide, while the rear is 405mm) would have performance implications.
Source: Autosport