Formula 1

Adding weight where it’s needed

Formula 1 rules are designed to make the sport more fair, safe, exciting and affordable. Making cars lighter each season makes them faster, so a minimum permissible weight is enforced: in 2009 this was 605kg including driver, fluids and on-board cameras.
A McLaren Formula 1 car, over 60% of which is made of super-lightweight carbon fibre composites, actually weighs significantly less than this, so the team adds ballast to bring the cars up to the minimum legal weight. Hidden compartments are engineered into the body of the car, such as in the front wing and the sidepods, which allow us to control and fine-tune the car’s weight distribution, and keep the centre of gravity low.

Taking advantage of the rules

Being in control of the car’s weight distribution means we can alter it at every race for optimum handling and tyre use, as well as meet the different demands of qualifying and racing.
So, the lighter we can make the car, the more we can vary its weight distribution to suit the track and the driver’s preference. It’s an example of our engineering ingenuity, an approach to problem-solving that goes back to Bruce McLaren’s days.