F1's governing body has taken action after Lewis Hamilton complained about the back problem throughout the season.
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Following the advent of F1’s all-new design regulations for the current season, extreme bouncing of cars has become an unforeseen concern, with Mercedes being one of the worst-affected teams. F1’s governing body has taken action after Lewis Hamilton complained about the problem throughout the season, but the bumpy Baku street track at last weekend’s Azerbaijan GP exacerbated the problem and put the seven-time world champion in significant discomfort after the race.
The FIA issued a technical guideline ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix that will require teams battling with bouncing to change their vehicle configuration to safeguard their drivers, with a limit on the degree of “vertical oscillations” being implemented. The FIA has not confirmed if the regulations would be enforced in Montreal, despite the fact that the news came less than 24 hours before Friday’s first practice session at the season’s ninth Grand Prix.
It wasn’t the aerodynamic phenomena that caused the last race to be canceled. It was the fact that Mercedes’ cars were driven very low to the ground, and when they encountered any bumps, the vehicles would contact the track. So what Mercedes was hoping to hear from the FIA was some type of rule requiring everyone to raise their vehicles to prevent drivers from developing back problems. Instead, they received from the FIA something akin to a taskforce, a technical instruction aimed at individuals whose vehicles are bouncing, specifically Mercedes.
So this is working against Mercedes, and it might be disastrous for Lewis Hamilton’s season. According to what they’re saying, the FIA will look into ways to stop the porpoising, which on the Mercedes simply means raising the car so that it doesn’t hit the ground and cause Lewis Hamilton and George Russell pain in the back. As a result, Mercedes automobiles will go slower because it is not how they want to be driven for maximum speed. They want to be run close to the ground, and if you have a bad back, well, that’s simply the result of running fast. You’re going to go slowly if you elevate the Mercedes.
Read more: Red Bull feels that Ferrari will sort their issue and will be back stronger after Baku
At the front of the pack, this will give Red Bull an edge because they have never had difficulties with porpoising, whereas Ferrari has. And, with Ferrari’s unreliability, it appears that Red Bull are not only in command of pure track pace, but that this latest technical directive will go in Red Bull’s favor, potentially against Ferrari if they have to suffer any bouncing problems that they’ve encountered on and off throughout the last few races.
