The FIA is pressing ahead with its plans to reduce the weight of Formula 1 cars come 2026 with the opening of a new tender process for a revised “lightweight” halo.
The 2026 season will see sweeping technical changes made to both the engine and chassis regulations, which will also include the notable shift towards active aero.
But the FIA has been public regarding its stance to cut the weight of the cars, which has spiralled from 691kg in 2014 to 798kg since 2022 with the current machines.
FIA Single Seater Director Nikolas Tombazis revealed last term that the research team on the regulations desired to “reduce the weight limit by 40 to 50 kilos in 2026”.
As part of that initiative, the FIA has now welcomed manufacturers to submit bids to be the designated halo supplier that the teams will use between 2026 and 2030.
The tender document specifies the updated titanium alloy halo must have a greater mass than 6kg, signalling the FIA is targeting a one-kilogramme reduction at best.
Like the current design which weighs 8kg, the new construction from the chosen supplier must undertake three static tests sustaining up to 125 kilonewtons of force.
Despite dividing opinion when it was chosen as the FIA’s head protection device and introduced in 2018, the halo has been credited with saving several drivers’ lives.
The device on Charles Leclerc’s Sauber car had tyre marks from when Fernando Alonso’s McLaren went over the top of him at Turn 1 at the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Romain Grosjean emerged with burns to his hands despite suffering a humongous crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix when his Haas VF-20 split in two.
Alongside a lighter halo, the next-generation cars will witness a reduction in weight through a smaller wheelbase down from 3600mm while also being 10cm narrower.
However, F1 is scheduled to remain running 18-inch wheels when the series undergoes its radical overhaul amid Pirelli’s decision to oppose a move back to 16 inches.
