Many must’ve noticed the drivers get out of their car, celebrate, and go stand in a corner next to an official and then be handed a paper slip. That is exactly what one user questioned on Reddit — “What is this paper slip, and what happens if the driver loses it?”
The first and most important part of the question is relatively easy. Each driver is weighed before and after the race by the FIA delegates. The slip they’re handed is their receipt to measure the weight lost during a race. They’re weighed under a rule implemented in 2019 that states that a driver cannot weigh below 80kgs (176 lbs) with all their gear including the helmet after the race.
If found underweight, a driver can face severe consequences from the stewards. Because of this everyone gets a copy, including the driver so there is no tampering of the evidence of their weight before and after a race. This is exactly why a slip is issued to the drivers. However, multiple copies and official records make losing the slip not a serious problem.
For extremely hot races like the one in Singapore where the drivers can lose up to 4 kgs (8.8 lbs), the teams need to prepare in advance. They add weight to a driver’s gear to not fall below the lower limit at such tracks. There’s a similar rule for cars as well and at the end, it’s all about performance.
How every single pound translates to performance in F1
As of 2023, the minimum weight of an F1 car was set to 798kg (1760 lbs). If after a race a driver’s car is found below the permissible limit, they’re disqualified from the race. It’s rare but most recently Mercedes man George Russell suffered from this heartbreaking scenario after winning the Belgian GP.
The Briton’s W15 was 1.5 kgs below the limit resulting in his DSQ. However, the cars and the drivers are always dangling just on the line of disqualification regarding the weight limit. They maintain the minimum possible weight adhering to the bottom line to maximize their output on the track.
A single pound can affect lap times by several milliseconds. This is why the same practice is followed with the car and the amount of fuel in the car. Drivers maintain themselves with a strict diet and training regimen. The teams cut down their weight with parts and even paint to get as close to the lower limit as possible. The cars also run the minimum amount of fuel to maximize the lap times.
