In recent times, especially since the 2022 season began, the question of increased physical effort in Formula 1 has become such a hot and urgent topic that the FIA has taken action on the matter.
The international federation issued a special technical directive to try to control the porpoising of single-seaters on the straights, in response to widespread protests across the paddock.
However, not everyone who shares the weekends with the pilots has reacted sympathetically. The longest-serving crew chief on the grid, Franz Tost, who is at the helm of AlphaTauri, is one of them.
The Austrian had no problem reminding the drivers that no one is forcing them to get behind the wheel of single-seaters and that if anyone is bothered by the bruises and pain that come from driving one, there are plenty of people willing to take their seats. .
“These are Formula 1 cars, not Rolls-Royce,” Tost said during the Canadian Grand Prix. “The drivers should take that into account. If these cars are too hard or too complicated to drive, maybe they should stay home, sit in a chair in the living room and watch the race on TV.”
“On the one hand, I understand that it is not easy for them. But on the other hand, this is Formula 1,” reasoned the AlphaTauri leader.
“I remember a time when there were cars with ‘wings’ in the championship [in the 1970s and 1980s]. One time on a Sunday one of the drivers came up to me and complained that he had to go to the dentist on Mondays, as the effort [he was making] in the corners always broke his fillings. So, there’s nothing new here.”
But this does not mean that Tost does not agree with the FIA’s decisions to protect the drivers, although not before leaving them a message. “First of all, drivers should go to the gym more often and train their neck and buttock muscles. It will be good for them.”
“If we talk about the FIA initiative, of course it will help assess the level of overload, find solutions to reduce bounce and reduce the forces acting on the drivers.”
“It’s still hard for me to judge how much all this can be controlled. AlphaTauri supports the FIA, we gave them all the data and now we want to see what happens.”
