“I don't know, I have not checked. But I am happy with my weight,” admitted Raikkonen in an interview for Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.
Most of the drivers in F1 have willingly chosen to get rid of a few kilograms – or maybe just a bit suggested by their teams' mechanics – in order to benefit from the introduction of KERS this year. Being that FIA chose not to change the weight limit of an F1 car despite the KERS unit – which is believed to weight up to 30 kilograms – mechanics are now finding it hard to distribute ballast around an the car.
The kilos shed by the drivers will therefore be transformed into ballast to be used properly by the mechanics in order to ensure a better weight distribution of their car. This has turned the offseason into a weight-losing contest for most of the F1 pack, with drivers like Nick Heidfeld, Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa, Nico Rosberg and even Kimi Raikkonen (although not admitting it) losing up to 5 kilograms.
On the other hand, Red Bull's Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel don't seem to have a problem with their current weight, as they've publicly expressed their disagreement with the kilos-losing race.
The Toyota drivers are also expected to benefit from the KERS introduction, but in a different way. As the Japanese manufacturer announced it will not use KERS in 2009, the potential 30-kg weight will now be used to improve car's balance through ballast. Of course, they won't be benefiting from the additional power brought by the unit, but then again, has anybody proved its potential in terms of lap times?
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