Christian Horner: FIA’s porpoising F1 directive ‘dangerous’, unfair to change rules

As a result of the continuous concerns regarding driver safety due to porpoising, the FIA introduced 🧜stricter guidelines for this weekend’s race in Mo🙈ntreal.
The FIA’s new rules will force teams struggling with porpoising to limit the level of “vertical oscillations” to help better protect their drivers after Lewis Hamilton sꦆuffered from back pain at last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Additionally, the FIA plans to have “closer scrutiny of the planks and skids, both in ter⭕ms of their design and the observed wear”.
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The directive has been met wღith opposing views wi💜th F1 title rivals Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc criticising it, while both Mercedes drivers have welcomed the move.
Spe♏aking after the second practice session in Canada, Horner felt that 🌳the FIA had made a hasty decision.
“The FIA, you can understand safety being their main concern, but to d🍬rop a technical directive like that just as we’re coming into a weekend, without any consultation, it just fe✃els the wrong way to be going about things,” Horner told Sky. “I think there needs to be proper consultation with the experts.
“A solution can be found. It’s a ve🌌ry dangerous thing to be giving the FIA the right to set up your rear ride height and your set-up going into a race. What happens if the wind changes during the race? What happens if the porpoising gets worse for whatever reason, based on the baseline they give? 🔜So it’s the metric with, how could they measure it?
“To apply this regulation – that’s what needs to be diꦗscussed. The intent is all well and good but it’s not been introduced in the right way༺.”

Horner believes the FIA’s solution is too complicated and that 𒐪there are much simpler ways to control thꦰe level of bouncing.
“There’s so many things they could do what would just be easier,” Horner explained.“ Stick a bigger plank on it, for example, that would get the cars off the gro𒊎und. Trying to mitigate, judge between one car and another… maybe we’ll benefit from it, maybe we won’t, I’ve got no idea.
“It se𒆙ems a very complicated way to go about solving an issue. It’s not an issue which affects all of the teams. I think the inference should be on the teams ♍to get it sorted.
“There’s a se🐈t of regulations tha🌠t are consistent for everybody there.”
Hypocrisy over the cost cap?
While Horner a🌃nd Red Bull are keen for the porpoising-related rules to remain the same, tꦕhey are keen for the cost cap to be adjusted..
Red Bull, along with Ferrari, waౠnt the cost cap to be increased.

A dramatic rise in inflation has led to a significant increase in costs for freight and development, putting the tඣeams’ budgets under extra strain.
Consequently, Horꩲner fea🍸rs this year’s title race could be turned into an “accounting world championship”.
Horner dismissed any sugꦉgestions that he was being hypoc🌳ritical over wanting the FIA to adjust the cost cap but not deal with the porpoising issue.
“The w💎ay you design your car is within your control,” Horner added. “That is something that you together wit𒁃h your group of designers, you create, you’re in control of your own destiny.
“What we’re seeing in the world at the moment, we’re not in control of that. We’re not in control of the inflationary costs that are affecting houses🐽holds around the world. In the UK we’re seeing predicted inflation at 11%.
“That’s a cost of living, that’s a direct effect on staff, on raw materials, on electricity, o♋n commodities, on supply of parts. I think it generally is a force majeure situation that the FIA needs to deal with.”


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