There has been quite the guessing game over recent weeks surrounding the true weight of the cars, and exactly which ones are the heaviest after the turn of the new technical regulations.
As ground effect aerodynamics returned, the cars became substantially heavier, leading the FIA to increase the weight limit to 795kg.
It was then reported that Alfa Romeo were the only team to have made a car light enough to make weight, so a further increase of three kilograms was introduced.
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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff described his team’s car and that of counterparts Red Bull as the “most overweight,” but fresh reports indicate that Aston Martin might have the heaviest challenger 2022.
Initially, it was perceived that those two teams were sitting at around 813kg, five heavier than Ferrari, but the new indications suggest that the Scuderia are just two kilograms overweight, with another 10 kilograms covering Mercedes, who are said to be at 806kg, and Red Bull, who are believed to be 810kg.
The Silverstone side, meanwhile, may be as heavy as 815kg, significantly heavier than anyone else on the grid.
Aston Martin have yet to score points in 2022 due to a terribly handling car, and team principal Mike Krack laments that his team are embroiled in a battle against both weight and aerodynamic deficiency, which is clearly proving an extremely difficult balance to strike.
“The car has potential, but we have problems with aerodynamics and weight,” he said.
“We’ve already made progress with weight, but not with the aero. The bouncing is like a wall for development. It’s very frustrating.”
Red Bull adviser Dr Helmut Marko has previously confirmed the impending arrival of a weight upgrade ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix that should gain the team just over two tenths of a second per lap.
This would be extremely significant, as they current weight protrusion, in the Austrian’s calculations, is costing them around three tenths per lap.
“Our car clearly weighs more than Ferrari. I think there’s a gap of about 10kg,” he explained.
“If we translate that into lap time, it’s about 3 tenths per lap. Losing weight, however, is expensive. It’s primarily a financial issue but also linked with reliability factors.
“It’s a difficult problem to solve due to the budget cap.”
Alpine have made a promising start to their 2022 campaign, and are said to be on the same weight as Ferrari as they try to drop a couple of extra kilos, and CEO Laurent Rossi has dismissed suggestions that the teams should be able to go over the $140 million spending cap in order to reduce weight.
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“Rules are rules. It would be wrong to start watering down the concept of the budget cap now,” he stated.
One of the concerns is the cost of shipping upgrades to races – particularly non-European ones – so the Frenchman affirms that the FIA would have to monitor this exemption very closely.
“Formula 1 is so interesting at the moment because the big teams can no longer put as much money into their cars as they used to,” he explained.
“If it’s really just about the freight costs, then we’d have to make sure a subsidy is used exclusively for that.”
Ferrari will not be bringing anything major to Imola due to the presence of only one practice session before Friday qualifying, while Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has reiterated that throwing upgrades at their car would only make their situation more “confusing.”