The start of the 2022 Formula 1 season marked the beginning of a new era for the top category of motorsport, as radically different technical regulations were introduced to try to improve the show on the track and the number of overtaking events.
To achieve this, the FIA studied in detail the characteristics of the single-seaters of past generations, and came to the conclusion that a simplification of the aerodynamics was necessary. The result was simpler cars in terms of elements and parts, with wings without appendages or a bottom that would generate more load, thus returning the ground effect.
The international federation was confident that the new rules would create more interesting racing, as they would have gotten rid of the infamous dirty air, but they did not take into account something that would cause a lot of headaches, in every way.
The well-known porpoising has been one of the themes of the season, and many teams, especially Mercedes, have expressed concern that the rebound of the cars causes pain in the body of the drivers. For this reason, the governing body decided to act, and indicated that they would make adjustments for the next course, in addition to adding measures from the Belgian Grand Prix this season.
Several months have passed since this negative effect was discovered in pre-season testing, and a formal agreement on the rules has not yet been reached, but on Monday night, the president of the FIA, Mohammed ben Sulayem , announced that the new version of the 2023 Technical Regulations was already drafted, and all that remained was to present it to the World Motor Sport Council [CMSA].
Thus, in a few days we will know the final resolution to this soap opera that has had reactions throughout the paddock, since approval in that entity is usually a mere formality.
“Having discussed porpoising with all 20 Formula 1 drivers and 10 team principals, I am pleased to announce that we will present an updated 2023 Technical Regulations to the CMSA to address that issue, in addition to the measures already in place for the rest of the the season”, indicated the head of the FIA on his Twitter account.
Single-seater bouncing has been a hot topic in each of the racing weekends, but it was in Baku that the hot spot was reached. On the streets of the Azerbaijani capital, the drivers accused that porpoising caused them a lot of back pain, even Mercedes boss Toto Wolff doubted Lewis Hamilton’s participation in the following appointment in Montreal.
It was precisely in Canada where the international federation announced that they would take measures to alleviate the rebound of the cars, in addition to installing a method to know the level of porpoising of each single-seater, establishing a maximum limit through aerodynamic oscillations [AOM]. However, after discussion by the teams was lacking, they delayed the introduction of that measurement until after the summer, at Spa-Francorchamps.
It was also necessary to know what will happen to the cars of 2023, as the FIA said they would make an adjustment to raise the height of the edges of the ground by 25mm , while the teams wanted just 10mm , but it is rumored that they have reached an agreement for the final figure to be 15 mm .
