As part of the FIA ‘s intervention to alleviate the problems that new-generation cars suffer from porpoising , the international federation intends to change the technical regulations for next season by raising the height of the floors.
But his plans, which currently call for a 25mm rise in the edges of the floor, have not gone down well with the teams, with some opposing the changes.
As Motorsport.com revealed on Friday, at least five teams want the funds to be changed to a lesser extent, and it is being discussed with FIA President Mohammed ben Sulayem .
It is known that an option is an increase of 10 mm , something that has the majority support of the teams, but the governing body considers that this change is not enough. Although some are not overly concerned about the scope of the modifications, there is a consensus that a final decision needs to be made imminently to prevent teams from having to throw away the work they have already done on their 2023 cars.
Alfa Romeo technical director Jan Monchaux said: “It’s not too late yet, but we can’t afford to wait another four or six weeks. I would prefer those changes to be for 2024, although if they come for 2023, I think now, just before of the summer break, it is the last thing that would be acceptable”.
“After that, I suppose most teams will be in full swing with developments on the 2023 car, and such an intrinsic change would upset a lot of plans,” he continued.
Even Mercedes, which has welcomed the FIA’s intervention, believes that the governing body should get its act together and set out what the plan is for 2023.
Silver Arrows director of engineering Andrew Shovlin stated, “What we’d like to have is clarity. Are they going to change it? And if so, let them agree.”
“The reality is that these cars will always be low to the ground, they will always be hitting the tarmac. And, although it can be mitigated and improved, if we want to change it in a fundamental way, a clear change in the regulations will be necessary,” he explained.
At McLaren, through its technical director, James Key , they indicated: “I think it is the latest that you want to arrive with long-term agreements, gearboxes, for example, and that kind of thing, they are beginning to be done At this time of year”.
“It’s quite late to understand that, so the sooner we know the final figures, the better,” he said.
Monchaux said the tweaks envisaged in the regulations are far from ideal, as they would force smaller teams, such as Alfa Romeo, to spend their limited money on designing solutions for the ground.
“The problem as a technical director is that we have to spend resources that you had not previously planned on that, because it is not even something to modify alone, it is a blank sheet of paper,” he assured. “So you’ll have to spend more to make sure you don’t miss out on anything.”
“If it’s 25mm, it will influence, so that’s the most painful thing for a technical director, because we’re also working with the budget cap. We have a vision on how to strategically approach developments in the next few years, and it’s quite evident that we need stability in the rules,” he said.
“If every six months we are changing the regulations, it makes life quite difficult for us,” concluded the Alfa Romeo man.
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