Red Bull team owner Christian Horner urged Formula One’s governing body on Saturday to refrain from making technical rule changes in the middle of a race to address the sport’s “porpoising” issues.
At a press conference following the British Grand Prix, Horner, whose team is currently leading both F1 world championships, stated that it was already too late to intervene and make changes for the current season.
However, Mercedes made it clear that they support efforts to stop the “bouncing” problems two days after the governing International Motoring Federation (FIA) issued guidance notes about a “porpoising technical directive” to be introduced at the French Grand Prix (July 24).
In accordance with the directive, there will be a “bouncing” limit that will be tracked using a metric that measures vertical accelerations, “plank” (a device carried in the wear and flexibility.
It’s already too late, in Horner’s opinion, to introduce changes for the following year.
“For that, we have governance. What you carry over to the following year will depend on the costs involved, which are occasionally negative outcomes of changing your entire philosophical perspective.
This will have an impact on development and design. Stability is crucial and is the main means of achieving stable costs.
He predicted that the teams would find solutions on their own without the FIA getting in the way.
He said, “The cars will converge.”
“You can already see it. Some vehicles resemble more well-known ones! Over the following six to nine months, I believe that will continue.
The key is to not interfere with it; just leave it alone, and the teams will handle it.
Many other team owners supported Horner because they opposed any interference by the FIA in the rules or changes for 2023.
Stability is ultimately what matters most to us, according to Alfa Romeo team manager Fred Vasseur.
Mike Elliott, the technical director at Mercedes, acknowledged that his team suffered greatly from bouncing but declared that he was open to change.
The drivers claim that when there is heavy bouncing, it is uncomfortable and unsafe for them.
“I believe that is something that this sport must deal with, and as a result, the sport must adjust and change.
“The problem is that these vehicles were created to follow a set of “ground effect” rules in an effort to facilitate passing. Can you continue doing some of that while avoiding bouncing, is the question.”
After reviewing the most recent draught technical directive, he added that there was still a lot of work to be done.
“I believe it’s something the FIA is working on based on what we’ve heard.
To use that measurement, Baku is one competition from which we wouldn’t have managed to pass (the test), but late last night, we wouldn’t even have triggered the metric.
