A number of drivers, in particular Mercedes’ George Russell, urged motor racing’s governing body last weekend to work to get rid of the bouncing phenomenon of the current generation of cars due to health and of security.
The FIA ​​responded almost immediately with a new technical directive issued to teams ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix which detailed an action plan.
In addition to beginning a data collection exercise to try and create a maximum allowance for a car’s vertical acceleration and rebound, teams were allowed to make minor changes to their floors from this race. weekend to reinforce them.
The impact of the changes on the competitive order, as well as any restrictions the FIA ​​may impose in the future on car set-up, is unclear at this time – but which teams suffer less porpoising are not thrilled with the potential for them to suffer as well.
And Leclerc, in particular, is irritated that Ferrari may lose the advantage he gained by working to fix the problem simply because other teams didn’t get it.
Asked by Motorsport.com about the FIA’s involvement in the porpoising debate, Leclerc said: “On the one hand I obviously understand George’s point of view, because when you see him with Lewis getting out of their car after Baku, it’s very bad.”
“You can probably feel the pain that Lewis is going through right now. And that’s not acceptable.
“But, on the other hand, you also cannot underestimate the amount of work that has been done over the last few months by the teams to really get these issues under control. This has been our main priority since the first time. that we have tried these cars.
“We have worked to bring these issues under control. I think the improvement has been huge, and now all the work we’ve done, [do we] just throw it in the trash because obviously there may be a team that has more trouble than others.
” It’s my point of view. Obviously I understand that on Mercedes it’s very bad, but I also think there may be solutions to that.”
George Russell, Mercedes-AMG
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Russell, who led the calls at the driver briefing in Baku for the FIA ​​to intervene, said it was far too early to suggest teams could lose any competitive advantage because of the latest action.
“At the end of the day, the FIA ​​is the rule-making authority, and they could make any rule change they want,” he said. “Nobody sitting here knows if it’s going to improve their performance or have a negative effect on their performance. So you really have to see.
“There are so many different looks and elements to these cars, that by raising the car it doesn’t necessarily lower it or remove it. You are between the porpoising and the bottom: they are two different issues that are at stake here.
“Hopefully it’s easier to drive for everyone and doesn’t have a knock-on effect on anyone’s performance.”
