Hamilton ‘doesn’t understand’ why F1 cars are getting “heavier”

As F1 embarks on a new set of regulations in 2022, cars will be heavier than ever seen before, with the minimum car weight set at 790kg.

When Hamilton made his debut in 2007, cars weighed around 600kg.

The introduction of V6 hybrid power units in 2014 meant the car weight increased significantly, exceeding 700kg, while the arrival of the Halo safety device added even more weight.

Speaking ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Hamilton hit out at rule-makers. 

“I don’t understand why we go heavier, particularly when there’s all this talk about being more sustainable and the sport going in that direction,” Hamilton said. “By going heavier and heavier and heavier, you are using more and more energy. 

“So that’s not really going in the right direction or the right thought process. Lighter cars were more nimble and nowhere near as big, and so racing and manoeuvring the car was better.”

Hamilton believes heavier cars go against the sport’s push towards sustainability and saving energy.

“On the tracks we are going to they are getting wider, like here, but like Monaco was always relatively impossible to pass but now the car is so big that it’s too big for the track,” Hamilton added.

“As I said, as we get heavier and heavier, that’s more energy we’ve got to dissipate, bigger brakes, more brake dust and more fuel to get you to the location and so on, so I don’t fully understand it.”

Going into this weekend's French Grand Prix, Hamilton trails Max Verstappen by just four points in the drivers' championship.