2021 F1 World Champion Max Verstappen is unhappy as the FIA’s decision to raise floor edges could benefit rival Mercedes in the following year.
Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen is leading the 2022 championship comfortably with an 80-point lead over nearest contender Charles Leclerc. Currently, he and Red Bull are the best driver-team combination on the F1 grid.
But an incoming FIA ruling would affect the 2021 World Champion’s title hopes next year. FIA has announced that teams will have to raise their floor edges by 15 mm next year.
The ruling was made to combat the severe porpoising the new 2022 cars suffered from. Bouncing the cars on straights made racing uncomfortable and unsafe for drivers.
Mercedes and its customer teams suffered the most from porpoising due to their low-rake car. The handling and pace of the W13 were greatly affected due to the bouncing.
Lewis Hamilton suffered back pain at the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix due to the car’s bouncing. After he failed to meet the required time to extract himself from his car, the FIA investigated raising floor heights.
As Toto mentioned, the Mercedes still looks about 4-5 tenths off of Verstappen and Leclerc
Best qualifying lap from Merc this weekend was 1:05.431 (RUS)
LEC was at 1:05.013 and VER at 1:04.984
Will be interesting to see what upgrades / floor changes do
Data by @f1_tempo_ #F1 pic.twitter.com/3Gy1S7ThmZ
— Formula1analyst (@Formula1analyst) July 12, 2022
FIA had earlier proposed to raise the floor edges by 25 mm to combat porpoising. But teams like Red Bull revolted against the decision as it could affect their car’s competitive performance.
The FIA settled on 15 mm after considering and studying the changes over the summer break. But even this change is way more than the 10 mm raise most teams supported.
But Red Bull is clearly not happy with the ruling. Team Principal Christian Horner remarked FIA shouldn’t change F1 floor rules to favour “a certain team”. And now Verstappen claims the extreme changes were unnecessary.
Also Read: Christian Horner accuses $1 Billion Mercedes for lobbying too much to change rules
Max Verstappen questions FIA’s exaggeration
Max Verstappen has been enjoying a great season so far, with 8 wins ahead of the 2022 Belgian GP. Even with half a season yet to be completed, the Dutchman is most likely to win.
Red Bull has had a flying start to the season and has claimed 9 victories in the first 13 races of the season. But their current form won’t work if their competitor Mercedes wakes up from hibernation.
Despite the new ruling, Verstappen is still optimistic that his team can challenge for the title. He believes it’s too early to predict who gains from the change, and it will be “interesting to see” the effects.
A new look Spa-Francorchamps 🇧🇪 Time for a test drive 🔎 #F1 pic.twitter.com/PioaD2r9Ds
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) August 22, 2022
According to the Dutchman, the FIA has gone “a bit over the top with these floor changes.” He has expressed dissatisfaction with FIA’s floor changes to manage porpoising problems.
He said, “I think already the last few races, you can see that most of the teams had it more or less under control. And also the teams who actually asked for it had it much more under control.”
Mercedes and Red Bull had gone wheel-to-wheel until the last race of the 2021 season. And with the changes favouring Mercedes, 2023 could see another title battle.
Also Read: Max Verstappen feels that 33-year old former Red Bull teammate leaving McLaren was good for him
