A group of teams, led by Ferrari and Red Bull, are unhappy with the scale of the changes the FIA intends to make to the technical regulations for next year. They do not agree with the proposal to raise the edge of the floors by 25 mm and raise the final part of the diffuser, which would force them to change the roadmap for the development of the 2023 cars, something very expensive and harmful considering account the budget limit.
Some teams wonder if the international federation has exceeded its ability to impose its law, since they defend that it is a security issue due to porpoising , something that the teams seem to have controlled to a large extent.
As teams press FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem to try and find a solution, the governing body is expected to face a duel with said teams, including with a possible veto from Ferrari or the courts.
However, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff , whose team supports the FIA’s position, believes that talking about legal issues is just something for the gallery, and that not much will change because the federation is trying to eliminate only the tricks that give competitive advantages around the floors.
“You ask, I’ve read in the media that [the rule change] is not relevant, it’s not a big change, so why are they saying they’re threatening to go the legal way?” he said.
“No team is going to resort to legality against the FIA, furthermore, if the federation decides to apply something it is for security reasons,” explained Wolff, who believes that, ultimately, if the teams want something it is irrelevant, since what The most important thing is to guarantee the safety of the pilots due to the effect of ricochets.
“I think it’s business as usual,” he said on the subject. “There is an inherent problem in the cars that we are not seeing here [in France], nor have we seen in Austria or Silverstone, because they are the flattest tracks of the year, but it has not disappeared.
“The cars are too stiff and bouncy, and if you ask the drivers there will probably be a majority who, anonymously, will tell you that,” he continued. “I think there was a discussion between the drivers and a result that no one talks about, and we’ll see where it goes.”
Asked by Motorsport.com if he would accept a deal, as several teams are known to be committed to increasing the edge of the floor by 10mm , Wolff said: “I think it’s not a question of compromise on the technical rules, it’s the rules that that protect the drivers and if these cars are too stiff and bounce around, we need to do something about it.”
“It’s clear that when you’re racing up front you want to make sure nothing changes, and when you’re not there you want a lot of things to change. So these two are the possibilities to position yourself. You have to ask the drivers,” he added.
The Mercedes chief executive also took with humor criticism from Red Bull boss Christian Horner , who said the Silver Arrows were putting pressure on the FIA to change the rules and help get them back into the race for victories.
“I think he gets bored being up front,” Wolff said. “So good for him, trying to work with the international federation is always part of it.”
“I don’t know what he means, because in the end, we’re all part of the same circus, working with the same stakeholders. Isn’t he pushing it? He sits in his office, doesn’t call anybody, and does his thing?” , sentenced the boss of the Brackley team.
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