On Thursday, the FIA issued a technical directive specifying that it intends to impose an “acceptable level of vertical oscillations” for safety reasons, in the face of complaints from drivers about their health as a result of porpoising .
The change is likely to force Mercedes to raise the height of its car for at least some races, which could mean losing performance.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has welcomed the move as a way of forcing teams to ensure they address the issue and protect their drivers from potential back injuries, rather than solely focusing on their positions.
“I think sometimes in Formula 1 we need to be protected from ourselves,” Wolff told Motorsport.com of the current problem.
“Everyone is looking for performance. And just like a lot of teams didn’t like the cost cap, and tried to fight it, or fight regulations that they felt were counterproductive to their own ends, now we have a situation where the one we deal with the way the cars have been designed, they’re ground effect cars.
“And just like the ground effect cars in the ’80s and ’90s, these cars are bouncing, to a greater or lesser degree on each of the teams’ cars. But in addition, there is a driver health issue.” he explained.
“And so we can’t let the teams say ‘well, it’s up to you’ to judge. And we can already see drivers who have been quite vocal about pain and blurred vision suddenly talking less about it. That shows that all the teams have to be protected from themselves through a regulatory change.”
Delving into the subject, Wolff stressed that it is the responsibility of the teams to address the issue, even if they have to be forced by the rules imposed by the FIA.
“It’s a bigger problem. And if we could all work it out, we’d rather see the situation work itself out. I think we all have a responsibility to our drivers,” Wolff said.
“This is not an area where teams should fight change just because they think they have an advantage over it. It’s a ground effect issue.”
“Even drivers from some of the teams that are ahead, and who haven’t had this problem, have come out in the media, like Sergio Pérez . And there isn’t a single driver who hasn’t felt the pain. So this is a health problem. And I see a strong FIA, taking the necessary measures.”
Wolff also made it clear that he believes the FIA was right to address the issue for safety reasons.
“I think we have to be honest with ourselves, that we try to create cars that are good for overtaking, good for show, but at the moment, they are a safety risk for the drivers, a safety risk in general, because in At any given moment, we are going to see some very, very ugly manoeuvres,” the Mercedes boss concluded.
