[walrus01]

I'm going to guess from the size of the kernel, since for distribution it has to be a fairly 'generic' kernel with just about every driver built into it. If one were to compile a custom 6.14 kernel for a specific hardware target with only 1 model of NIC (3c509b for example), etc, it could be a lot smaller.

[Wowfunhappy]

Why does the number of drivers compiled in affect memory use? Shouldn't the kernel just load what it needs and ignore the rest?

[nycerrrrrrrrrr]

If it's compiled into the kernel it'll occupy memory regardless if it's being used. If it's built as a kernel module then it doesn't occupy memory until loaded.