What is ballast in a F1 car?

Answer 1

Ballast is any heavy metal used in cars and boats to aid in stability and control.

F1 cars are constructed well under the minimum weight (640 kg/1141 lbs including the driver and his helmet) so ballast is used to bring the car up to minimum weight requirements. Tungsten steel is generally used due to its high density.

Since ballast can be placed anywhere in the car, it can be used to tweak the car to how the driver likes to drive or improve handling and tire wear, among other things. Placing ballast over the front wheels will aid the car by giving it more grip in tight corners. Ballast in the front endplate can help balance and ballast on the underbody keeps the car's center of gravity down. Teams will move ballast around in the car from race to race based on the circuit that is being driven. Where they place the ballast for a race in Monaco is different than where it will be for Spa or Monza.